A Lifetime Worth Of Wrongs
by suicidalalchemist
Summary: Broken after losing her, he seeks to rectify his mistakes in the past... Rated M for mature themes, violence, possible lemons and harem. Time-travel. Time-travel fix-it. Pairings are as following for Adult Naruto. YoungNaruto/Hinata.
1. Chapter 1 - Inception

**Hi. This is my first attempt at writing a full-fledged fic. I usually write whenever I'm free or when I'm in the right frame of mind. Fellow writers can attest to that. So expect an update after a while. It depends if the story picks up. I mentioned my first attempt because some things will probably not be perfect. My grammar might be a bit sketchy cause English is not my first language. I had a lot of help from a good friend Valkipher here on FF. This chapter is also beta-read by him. The first chapter is inspired a little bit at the start by A Testament of Things That Will Never Happen by Unbiased Abyss. Hopefully, he doesn't mind. I appreciate constructive criticism. So please leave a review. Fingers crossed. Thanks for reading.**

**EDIT: Hey. I come from the future. That's a poor joke. Anyways, I wanted to mention that the first chapter... looking back at it... it's honestly not that great. It's really poor if compared with the rest of the chapters. Comparing it with the way and how I'm writing now, it's not good. But that's the sort of thing you learn as you grow. I'm progressing as a writer and I'm getting better with each update. At least I think I am. I might do a rewrite one day. Make it better. Hope you stick around.**

**~~X~~**

Iruka was coughing up blood now... He had been pierced with a couple of kunai and had a Fuma shuriken stuck in his back. _'I need to get Naruto someplace fast. At this extent, I won't be able to stay awake much longer.'_

Naruto was shocked. He had just found out about his burden. He knew now why people always hurt him and why they whispered bad things about him and at him. But he had other things to worry about at the moment.

"Iruka-sensei!"

Just as Iruka was about to collapse, Naruto caught him and leaned him against the tree. Iruka had pulled the Fuma-shuriken out of the tree and was losing consciousness.

"Naruto, there's no way you can beat Mizuki. Go and take the scroll to Sandaime-sama. I'll hold him off. Please. Go." He pleaded.

"Iruka-sensei, there's no way you can fight Mizuki-teme this way. I won't back down. I'll kick his silver-haired ass. Believe it!"

Iruka smiled but instantly lost consciousness.

"Wha-? I-Iruka-sensei!"

"He's not going to be able to save you, you demon!" Mizuki appeared on the tree next to them.

"Why, you-"

"Lord Orochimaru will reward me. Oh, yes he will. For taking down the demon and getting the scroll both."

Just as he was about to attack them...

"Rasengan!"

Mizuki screamed and was instantly flown away taken by the spiralling blue ball of chakra. He went through two trees and slammed into the third one with the tree smashed. His whole stomach was vaporized by the chakra ball. _'Wind natured, was it?'_ Mizuki could only gawk at his executioner before he fell face-first on the ground dead.

The executioner stood at about 6'1. Blood red hair shoulder length tempestuous. He was wearing Anbu styled black pants which were ripped at several spots with small cuts visible. With black blood-stained boots. He was wearing a black jacket with orange stripes running shoulder to forearm, with a white undershirt in which bloody gashes were visible. The Uzumaki symbol stood proudly on his back. He was wearing a red cape with black blazing flames at the bottom. But the cape was in tatters. His arms were a bloody mess. He was wearing a black and red fox Anbu mask which was shredded but enough to hide his distinct whisker marks. Only his azure eyes shone in the darkness. He came close to Naruto and his eyes softened at the frightened child.

"A-Are you okay?" He asked in a soft yet subdued tone.

"H-hai..." the boy replied warily.

"Good..." The man replied.

_'I guess it worked...'_

Then fell to his knees and collapsed.

The Hokage was watching the scene and decided to intervene. He arrived as soon as the masked man arrived but froze when he saw the Rasengan being formed.

_'Only Jiraya and Kakashi know how to use it...'_

He decided to wait and let the events play out. Something told the Sandaime that this person did not have any bad intentions. He just had a feeling but it did not mean that he trusted him, mind you. He was still on high alert with his Anbu in tow.

"Hokage-jiji!"

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" He asked the blonde and signalled his Anbu to get the foreigner medical attention.

"Hai, jiji! The Oji-san saved me! H-he used this really flashy kind of ball which sent Mizuki-teme flying like whoosh!"

The blonde was exaggerating making gestures that would make him look like a clown in front of everyone but the Hokage was used to the blonde and just chuckled. One of the Anbu, specifically a cat-masked one, giggled quietly.

_'Still the same cute gaki...' _She mused.

The Anbu left to get the foreigner medical attention. The Hokage turned to the blonde, "Naruto-kun, now that I've found out that you're fine. Why did you take the Scroll Of Sealings?" The Hokage asked concernedly. The merry expression the blonde held was instantly changed into a grim one.

"Mizuki-sensei tricked me and said to get the scroll from your office. He told me that if I got the scroll, that means I'll pass. I-I'm so stupid! I didn't understand the bastard was tricking me."

Tears were falling from the boy's eyes. The Hokage was worried when he saw through his crystal ball what Mizuki said to him. That was when he left to take care of the threat himself. The boy was tough, the Hokage always acknowledged that. But when he saw the expression the boy held right now, the pain was quite visible and he felt years of guilt creeping up on his spine. He started contemplating every decision he made regarding the boy.

_'Minato and Kushina would be ashamed of me. The boy is in so much pain right now and it's all my fault. I should have tried harder. I should've fought harder...'_

He knew why the boy was in visible pain. It wasn't a thing such as trivial as being tricked by someone. That was a daily occurrence for the boy. He just found out the source of his pain, his suffering. The boy had many emotions bottled up inside of him. Most along the line of hatred and scorn for the bastard villagers. Why did they have to hate him for something which he could not control? There were elements of insecurity too. Was he really a demon then? Left for the villagers to direct their hatred on?

The Hokage knelt down and put his hand on the boy's head. "Naruto-kun, I'm very sorry I kept a secret from you... You know what I'm talking about, don't you? But it was for your own protection. Don't ever think for a second that you are the demon. You are the jailer and he is the prisoner. Your parents wanted you to be treated as a hero but... things did not turn out the way as your parents wanted... There are many things that I cannot say until you're old enough but I'm very sorry, Naruto-kun. Can you find it in your heart to forgive an old fool like me?"

The Hokage was desperate but even he knew that some things are not easy to forget especially with the amount of abuse the boy has suffered. He may not be conscious about his feelings right now but even a blind man can tell that the boy is bound to change someway after learning such a burden about himself.

"I don't know, jiji. I need some time to get over it and think about it and become awesome again, ya know?" The boy smiled but it was clearly forced. The Hokage saw through it and his heart shattered.

"Of course, Naruto-kun. Take as much time as you need."

They remained silent for a while until Naruto broke it, "Say, Jiji? What will happen to the Oji-san who saved me? He'll be okay, right?"

"I cannot say anything about that, Naruto-kun."

Naruto frowned but did not say anything. Both made their way to the hospital. Naruto went to Iruka who was awake now and was awarded with a forehead-protector. But did not celebrate. Iruka was concerned for him but Naruto waved him off saying it was nothing.

**~~X~~**

The Hokage made his way over to the medical facility. A couple of kunoichis and Iryo-nins were giggling outside the room. Upon seeing the Hokage, they immediately straightened.

The Hokage sighed and went inside. Inside, the man was lying on the bed with half his body covered by the bedspread and the other half visible with some noticeable scars and bandages. But there was a person who was tracing her hand on the man's muscles... That person was none other than Neko, the cat-masked Anbu.

The Hokage cleared his throat. Upon seeing the Hokage, she jumped and straightened,

"Ho-Hokage s-sama!"

She was blushing madly and sweating profusely, under her mask of course. The Hokage sweatdropped, _'Why it always the young ones who get lucky?'_

"Get the medic, Neko-san."

The Anbu bowed and left embarrassed at being caught at a slightly obscene act and soon after, the medic arrived.

"Hokage-sama." He bowed.

"What's the condition of our friend here?"

The medic sighed, "Not great, Hokage-sama. To be honest, it's kind of amazing he's alive. He has a punctured lung, nerve damage in one arm. Multiple concussions, a cracked shoulder, two cracked ribs. A ruptured spine disk. His whole body has multiple gashes... But his healing prowess is amazing. His chakra reserves are out of this world. He's drained right now, his condition speaks for itself. But he's probably higher than you in terms of chakra, Hokage-sama. His wounds are almost covered along with the scars he already has. By the rate he's going at, he should be okay by the morning."

The Hokage was very curious now. _'He looks like he fought a whole battalion by himself. Plus that red hair. Only one person in the whole village had that hair. And she was an Uzumaki. Those chakra reserves and that healing prowess although at a much substantial rate. The vitality. He's an Uzumaki, that much is confirmed. But his face... it reminds me so much of Minato. But also of K-Kushina?'_

The Hokage turned to his medic, "perform a DNA test, a blood test and compare it with the village database. It's for my eyes only. No one else. Not even you are allowed to see the results. Go do it. Now."

The medic bowed and left. He pulsed his chakra and an Anbu arrived, "Your orders, Hokage-sama?"

"Get Yamanaka Inoichi right now. I won't take no for answer. Tell him it's an emergency."

The Anbu shunshined out of the room to carry his orders. As soon as the Anbu left, the foreigner started stirring up and opened his azure eyes to lock eyes with the Hokage. He smiled and said,

"It's been a while, old man..."

The Hokage was both shocked and amused. Shocked because the colour of those eyes was profoundly familiar. And amused at being called with such a brusque appellation. Only two people in the whole village called him that.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked neutrally.

"Hai. The Sandaime Hokage. Sarutobi Hiruzen also known as the _Kami no Shinobi_ due to mastery over all five elements. Led Konoha through the Second and Third Shinobi Wars." He stated calmly.

"I'm flattered that you know of me. But who are you? And what business do you have with Konoha?" The Hokage asked with a hint of peril.

"No need to get so hostile against me, old man." He waved his hands above his head feigning innocence.

"I'll tell you everything about myself and why I'm here. But before I do that, I want you to place a silencing seal over the room and take a seat cause you're gonna need it."

_'There goes that feeling of trust again...'_

The Hokage complied and sat on the chair next to the bed. He applied the seal to the wall which glowed briefly.

"Okay, you have my attention."

The foreigner took a deep breath and said, "When you see my face. Who does it remind you of?"

The Hokage remained silent. The foreigner allowed a small smile to show on his face. "I'm sure you're familiar with _Jikūkan Ninjutsu_. Your sensei, the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama invented a technique called the _Hiraishin_ which the Fourth perfected and made it as his signature jutsu. Let's just say there's a variant of said Jikūkan Ninjutsu which I made in collaboration with a certain someone..."

The Hokage was now processing everything that the foreigner told him. His sensei was always talking about the capabilities of his Hiraishin and how it could be taken to the next level. Such that time-travel could be made possible if made with a certain Fuin signature of the user in which the arrays could be made cross-dimensional. So the user could travel to the tag irrespective of the past or future. The tags made in a way that they could be rendered into the surface so they don't decay over time. That much Tobirama knew. But he could never go beyond that. His student Koharu always called him gaga.

_'He never lived long enough to finish it. Minato never worked on it on this aspect of the jutsu. He certainly had the potential for it.'_

The Hokage had a passive look on his face. He sighed and took a drag of his pipe, "This is quite difficult to comprehend... Say I were to believe you, which by the way I don't, what business do you have in Konoha? And I mean_ our_ Konoha..."

The foreigner chuckled, "Figured it out, huh? Let's just say... a lifetime worth of wrongs needed to be rectified..."

He paused and then said, "I have a lot to tell you, old man. But before I do, let's wait for the tests you had done on me. I need at least one ratification so I don't sound like a complete lunatic, don't ya think?"

The Hokage merely rolled his eyes at that. "Of course you'd know. Fair enough."

_'That vocal tic. The Rasengan. Uzumaki vitality. Azure eyes. The only differences are the whisker marks and the hair. Either he's a proficient masquerader or I'm bound to be in for a long fucking night...'_

**~~X~~**

Kurenai was standing on the rooftop taking some fresh air. She had been stuck in that godforsaken room for so long that she had started suffocating.

_'At least they let me change into something comfortable. I was feeling like someone was watching my ass all the time with that stupid hospital gown.'_

Which was all speculation of course. Who would want to invoke the wrath of the infamous 'Ice Queen Of Konoha'. She was wearing a loose fitting black shirt which did little to no effort to hide her impressive assets, dark-blue shorts showing her slender and slim legs which hugged her tightly at her rear. She really wasn't trying to show off. Well, not intentionally.

She was staring demurely from the ceiling of Konoha Hospital. Looking at nothing in particular. She heard a voice called out to her,

"Bad day, huh?"

Kurenai sighed_, 'Great, just what I needed… another cheap flirt. As if today wasn't fucked enough already...'_

"Yes, it was. Now, I'm really not in the mood to handle any type of flirting today. Kindly fuck off."

The man chuckled, "Ouch. That bad, huh? Well, I guess I'll leave you to it. I just wanted some fresh air. Sorry for bothering you."

The man sounded generally sincere. Now Kurenai felt really bad that she snapped at him like that but she couldn't help it. She had been used to so many people hitting on her that she wasn't accustomed to someone actually wanting to talk to her and get to know her without actually throwing themselves at her.

"Wait!" She exclaimed at the person who was trying to be cordial towards her.

"Look, I'm really sorry for snapping at you like that... I just had a really bad day... and..."

She trailed off once the man turned around and she finally turned around to look at the man she was addressing. She hadn't seen him since she had her back turned away from him. She blushed immediately which was a rare sight for those who knew her. Naruto was wearing a white undershirt which did little to hide his well-built physique along with bandages wrapped on various parts of his arms. His healing prowess had been a little slow since Kurama hadn't woken up yet. He was wearing black trousers with ninja sandals at the bottom. He held a crutch in his right hand for support. His red hair was tied in a ponytail with a few strands escaping from the front. His azure eyes shone bright and warm from the angle he was standing in with a hint of mischievousness in them. His whisker marks although not as distinctive as Chibi-Naruto's; they were more rugged making him all the more appealing for poor old Kurenai. His lips were tilted upwards slightly upon seeing the effect he had on her.

"Like what you see?"

Kurenai blinked and then jumped slightly blushing full red which would have made a certain Hyuuga proud.

"N-no no! W-well I mean... I-I was just l-looking at your bandages... t-they're... q-quite f-fascinating..." She cursed herself for acting like a schoolgirl all of a sudden.

"My bandages, huh? I didn't know they were considered such an oddity here in Konoha..." He mused. And to her continual embarrassment, the man laughed.

He wiped stray tears from his eyes and immediately stopped upon seeing her glare but still let out an occasional snicker. "I'm so sorry! It's just that I haven't felt this unperturbed in so long that I forgot how to laugh. I needed some type of consolation, mind you. And I apologise begrudgingly that an alluring woman such as yourself were the test subject."

She blushed again, although on a lighter note.

"Flattering me won't get you anywhere, Shinobi-san."

He smiled not at all surprised that she knew he was a shinobi and said, "You're right. Well, let's start over."

His smile was making her feel warmth she hadn't felt before. His chakra was also calm and soothing. She was a sensor after all.

"My name is Uzumaki Ashina. Pleased to meet you."

_'An Uzumaki? That would explain the red hair... Probably the first to step into Konoha next to Uzumaki-kun after Kushina-san...' _She inferred discerningly.

"My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. Pleased to meet you too, Ashina-san." He nodded with a kind smile.

"So it seemed like something was bothering you... Bad mission?"

"I guess you could call it that... And again, I'm really sorry for snapping at you like that." She apologised but Ashina just waved her off to let her continue.

"I... can't tell you the details because they're classified. But it was a complete mess... We were starting to get along too. It's just been a little more than six months since I've been promoted to Jōnin rank... 'My first A-rank which turned into an S-ranked…' The mission was supposed to be a piece of cake... It's never that easy, is it?" She said with a cruel smile.

"How are you supposed to deal with people who you've spent days with...laughing…joking… How are you supposed to forget them just like that? Like they didn't even matter. I've been on missions before... I've lost comrades before... But I don't know... it just feels wrong... every fucking time. But I guess that's what we're taught, isn't it? That such is the life of a Ninja. But I can't help but feel that that's complete and utter horseshit. They weren't even buried properly, for Fuck's sake!? Their heads severed... bodies going cold… blood everywhere you look… one second she's talking to me, the next she's..."

She trailed off once she remembered she was talking to a complete stranger. "I-I'm sorry, I'm just rambling on here..." She said sheepishly.

Most people would have just been pissed off most likely going away seeing that they weren't going to get her attention but she noticed that he was listening to her every word and was nodding every now and then. She smiled inwardly, _'A nice change. And it doesn't hurt that he's cute as hell...'_

Ashina smiled, "It's okay, Kurenai-san. It always happens the first few times. I can't say that you'll begin to feel any different as time goes on, I'm sorry. But..."

He paused and then said, "Let me give you a piece of advice, Kurenai-san. You'll learn to live with it. You'll learn to bear with it. As time goes on... If you can't, you're just not enough to be granted the honour of serving your village and Hokage. It does get easy but you don't forget. You never do." He spoke in sad memory of a certain someone.

"As Shinobi, we always and must endure." He concluded with a citation of his lethargic sensei.

Kurenai nodded to each and every word. He spoke with charisma that showed that the man was experienced as a leader. He had a sombre expression on his face that made Kurenai wonder. It made her wonder just who the man was.

Ashina just grinned sheepishly with his hand behind his head, "I'm sorry for being so blunt. But it's just reality, Kurenai-san. But honestly, from the discipline you have on your sentiments... It shows that you can make it. That you have what it takes to... survive. I hope we work together in the future. Hopefully, as comrades."

She nodded pertaining she hadn't minded. "Are you applying for citizenship, Ashina-san?" She asked neutrally but hopeful inwardly.

Wait, why was she hopeful?

He smiled. "I am. Hokage-sama just offered me this morning. And it doesn't hurt that I have family here as well."

She smiled upon hearing of the word family. She knew who that meant of course. After all, Uzuki Yuugao, her friend and practically sister made sure of that.

"Uzumaki-kun is a very cute boy. A friend of mine is quite fond of him... That boy really has a heart made of gold. Oh, and his adorable whisker marks..." She stated with a fond tone before frowning a little,

"You know of his circumstances, Ashina-san?"

Anger flashed through his Ashina's azure eyes for a second. Kurenai could have sworn she saw crimson but quickly shook it off as a concoction of her own imagination.

"Yes... I know. Hokage-sama was very reluctant about it... but I know of Naruto-kun's circumstances. He will be under my protection of the Uzumaki clan from now on. Well, not officially a clan yet but it will be in a few hours from now." He said with a sober and earnest tone.

"Good, I'm glad." She said with a smile before shifting nervously a bit.

"I would like to meet your friend though... To thank her for caring... After hearing about Naruto-kun's circumstances, I'm sure you can understand..." He said with a sad smile.

"Of course. I-I'll talk to her." She replied sounding a little nervous.

"Is everything alright, Kurenai-san?" He asked a little worried but the corner of his lips tilted upwards slightly upon seeing her blush a little.

"D-do you wanna have a cup of tea later? After you leave the hospital, obviously..." she asked nervously not making any eye contact at all.

"You mean like a date?" He grinned.

Now Kurenai was getting pissed off... She smirked inwardly.

_'That's how you wanna play, huh?'_

She leaned forward pressing her breasts together a little bit, "And what if it was, Ashina-kun?" She purred.

Now it was Ashina's turn to be caught off guard. "Oh. U-um, I-I... uh..."

**"Mate with her."**

_'Wha- K-Kurama?!'_

He cleared his throat, "I-I would be honoured to take you, Kurenai..chan..." He said with a twinge of red on his cheeks.

Kurenai smirked but not without a healthy blush of her own.

"Good." Ashina 0. Kurenai 1.

"You can pick me up from my apartment two days from now. Sayōnara, Ashina-kun..." She then left leaving him slack-jawed.

Ashina was still standing at the same place he was since with a dumbfounded look on his face but shook it off soon after with a small chuckle.

_'Damn. She's just as beautiful as I remember her. Asuma-sensei was one lucky asshole...'_

**"I'd say..."**

"You've finally decided to grace me with your presence, huh? Damn furball."

**"Fuck you, Kit. You try to go through chakra exhaustion when your container is about to pull something as stupid as using the Level 3 Hiraishin without warning or consulting me first..."**

But before Ashina could retort with a piece of his mind... Kurama held up his paw, **"Yeah yeah... I know you did not have a choice. We will discuss this later. For now..."** Kurama smirked.

Ashina groaned. _'Oh, God...'_

**"Seems like you have been having fun..."**

_'Yeah, well. Too bad.'_ Ashina frowned a little and his cheery mood suddenly took a dark turn.

The fox sighed. It knew this was going to be difficult.

**"Kit... Listen to me. You know as much as I do that the shy Hyuuga would have wanted you to move on. It has been far too long since..."**

The fox trailed off knowing how many painful memories it was digging up by mentioning her.

**"It is unpleasant seeing you like this."**

Ashina just gave a sad smile in response happy that the fox cared about him even if it was too shy to admit it.

_'I know, Kurama. But I just feel guilt. She was everything. My light, my hope. Do you think I could ever feel the same way about someone else again?'_

The fox remained silent for a while and then responded, **"I cannot say anything about that, Kit... But take comfort in the fact that your Chibi ningen will do everything right for her what you could not. You now know what Kushina had in mind. And you know our plan with Hiashi. You have to move on..."**

Ashina sighed. _'Maybe...'_

**"Just give it a chance."**

_'Fine.'_

He then smirked, _'Ya know, you give really good relationship advice. I noticed a lot with Hinata too. Whether if it was war everywhere...'_

He laughed when the fox just flipped him off and went back to ignoring him. Just as he was about to exit the mindscape,

**"For the record, it is good to see you are okay, Kit."**

Ashina gave it an appreciative smile and exited the mindscape,

"Same, furball..."

**~~X~~**

**Adult Naruto's name is also credited to Valkipher. Thanks again for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Guilt & Reconciliations

**Hey. I know some of you guys said that the paragraphs in the previous chapter had a problem that I don't start a new paragraph in a conversation when the second person talks. Sorry about that. I rectified that in this one. I'll try to fix that one too. Other than that, thank you so much for the reviews and favourites. I'm honestly overwhelmed. And a huge shoutout again to Valkipher. He's making this possible by helping out when necessary. This chapter is also beta-read by him. With that being said, hope you guys like this chapter.**

**~~X~~**

Naruto was sitting on top of the Yondaime's head; on top of the Hokage Monument. The sentiments going through the young blonde's were along the lines of '_Am I really a demon?'_

'_Why did the Fourth Hokage choose me?'_

'_Was it because I had no one? Was I really that expendable?'_

'_What did I do to deserve this?'_

But the most excessive amongst them was,_ 'Did my parents even love or know me?'_

The blonde was undergoing something he hadn't gone through with since he was first kicked out of the orphanage. He had to survive living by himself for a couple of days eating whatever he could find until the Hokage saw what happened via his Anbu. The blonde still had occasional nightmares due to him surviving the cold nights by himself. Missing the academy and even if he went, he couldn't stay awake. Everyone just shook it off as the blonde with his theatrics. It was not until the blonde was visibly malnourished enough that the Hokage finally noticed. He did not tell anyone about his current place of dwelling because he did not want to be a burden to his Ji-san.

The blonde was quickly realising that he was going through one of his bouts of anxiety and depression. Not that he knew what that was. Whenever he had one of these 'low moods' as he called them, he always put on one of his fake smiles. And as time went on and a couple of bowls of ramen later spending time with his Ayame Nee-chan and Teuchi-jisan, he would be back to his merry self. He always shrugged it off to assure himself that he was fine and he would become Hokage; then everyone would acknowledge him. Now, he was not so sure. His bout of depression did not seem as easily segregated as it normally did. And being honest, the blonde did not want it to this time...

Before he could engulf himself into further misery, a voice called out to him,

"Morning!"

The man held a cheery voice which Naruto thought was strange since no one other than a handful of people used it for him. It was usually demon this and demon that; from what he heard since they were always whispers. It was not like he gave up on humanity itself. It just made him wary towards people in general, not that anyone could blame the blond.

The blonde turned around to see a red-haired man with azure eye walking towards him. "Yo." The man waved his hand.

"W-who are you?" Naruto asked warily.

The man just smiled and said, "Let's just say I'm a friend of yours, Naruto-kun... I would like to talk to you if you don't mind?" He stated with a calm tone.

Naruto just stared at the strange tomato man with squinted eyes whilst tilting his head slightly which would have made Kurenai or Yuugao coo and swoon _'Kawaiii~' _before saying, "You seem kinda familiar, Oji-san..."

The man in question blinked and then blinked again. And then suddenly his mouth fell open and a dark cloud hung over his head. "D-Don't call me that! It makes me feel old, y'know..." '_Kami, I'm slightly older than Tou-chan was and he still calls me Oji-san?'_

The blonde just grinned sheepishly with his hand behind his head which was a habit he had inherited from his parents. '_Wait, y'know? Feh. Ripoff...'_

_'**Weird, isn't it, Kit?'**_

'_Hush.'_

He suddenly had wide eyes... "I-It's you! The Oji-san from the other night!" He said shockingly.

"I said don't call me that! You can call me Nii-san or Nii-chan but not that!"

"Well, you're old! So why shouldn't I call you that?!"

"Didn't anyone tell you the difference between an Oji-san or a Nii-san, chibi?!"

"Oi! Who u callin' chibi?!"

"Well, who you callin' an old man?!"

The two had their heads colliding with each other with sparks visible... until the older one pulled back admitting defeat with a small chuckle.

"Okay okay... you win. I'm sorry. But I'm not that old, you know?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes a little bit and lowered his head, "It's okay... I-It's just that I haven't called anyone Nii-chan before..."

Ashina frowned upon seeing his narrowed eyes, "Come with me, Naruto-kun." He said resolutely. But before Naruto could respond, the older man put his hand on his shoulder and suddenly disappeared in a red flash.

**~~X~~**

Ashina and Naruto arrived at the training ground where Ashina had planted the seals at. As soon as they entered, the Hiraishin triggered a fail-safe Fūin seal which made four of his clones to appear resonating a barrier similar to the _Shisekiyōjin _although not as drastic in defence; to surround the field. The primary difference between the _Shisekiyōjin _Ashina's variant was that this seal was transparent making it suitable for covertness. The clones were pumped with extra chakra by using a seal Ashina invented to withstand the depletion.

As soon as Naruto arrived, he fell on his ass. Quite literally... He felt nauseous but was able to shake it off because he did not have breakfast yet.

Upon seeing the pale condition of his Chibi, Ashina just grinned sheepishly with the familiar quirk. "Sorry about that. It happens the first few times..."

"Nii-chan... t-that was amazing! You've gotta teach me that, y'know!" The blonde said enthusiastically with stars in his eyes.

The older man laughed, "Of course. Maybe when you're older, Naruto-kun. For now... I would like to talk to you about something important. Is that okay?"

The blonde did not say anything but nodded.

"What do you know about the Uzumaki clan?" The man asked him.

"The U-Uzumaki clan? Hey, wait! My name is Uzumaki... D-Does that mean I belong to a clan, Nii-chan?!" The blonde asked excitedly.

"Well yes, actually. The Uzumaki was a prominent clan which existed in Uzushiogakure. The symbol on your back is actually the symbol of the clan. The Uzumaki were distant cousins of the Senju; the clan of the Shodai Hokage." Ashina smiled upon seeing Naruto having stars in his eyes upon hearing of being related to the First Hokage.

'_Wait till you meet Baa-chan...'_

"Ya know, the Senju chose to symbolise their clans' friendship by adding the Uzumaki's clan symbol to the back of Konoha's flak jackets. That's why every Chūnin and Jōnin wear them. The Uzumaki were renowned for many of their unique traits... but they were most feared and respected throughout the ninja world due to their skill and mastery with Fūinjutsu."

"Eeeh, what's Fūinjutsu, Nii-chan?"

"Sealing jutsu, Naruto-kun."

"Oh."

"My point being is that your clan was quite respected, Naruto-kun, and rightfully so... Sadly, Uzushiogakure is no more... It was destroyed by some of the other nations deeming them to be too powerful. Most of the members of the clan died or either went into hiding and spread throughout the world..."

He paused when he saw the blonde's expression turn into a grim one and then said, "except for one of them..."

The blonde perked up when he heard that, "Do you know who it was, Nii-chan? Please! Y-You have to tell me!"

The blonde was desperate but the older man held up his hand. Being as impatient as the blonde was, he was about to retort but the older man spoke first, "Do you know one trait that the Uzumaki had which was really dominant?"

The blonde was dense. Everyone knew that. But his denseness and sometimes asininity were in direct contrast to his intelligence. Both his parents were gifted. Minato perfected the _Hiraishin No Jutsu _and created the _Rasengan. _Kushina was a master as per tradition in her clan of Kenjutsu and Suiton Ninjutsu. And both of them were prodigies in Fūinjutsu. And Naruto was no different. He just did not know it yet.

By merely chance whilst sneaking around in the Konoha library, reading a simple book on Ninjutsu with a side note in Fūinjutsu, he invented stink bombs for his pranks. He saw a small seal for entrapment from the book which he easily drew for his pranks. The seal just came naturally to him. He did not know the prevalent fact that Shinobi strategics aka 'book reading' could very well save his or a comrade's life due to a simple change of tactics simply because nobody had told him the paramountcy in regards to it. He was dense and not able to pick things up as quickly as others his age because he had not been reared properly. But there was a lot more to him than people gave him credit for. The Anbu which were victimised by the '_Evil Blonde Bastard' _as they called him could very well testify to the fact that the blonde knew how to evade even the most diligent of the Anbu but except for a certain brown-haired scarred sensei, they could never catch him. His tactics, although unorthodox, always worked. Ashina knew that, of course.

The blonde shook his head indicating he had not.

"Well, the Uzumaki's were predominantly known for their vitality, their chakra reserves..." He paused a little before he said, "And their ash red hair..."

"But Nii-chan... You have red hair..." The blonde suddenly realised, "D-Does that mean..."

"It's true, Naruto-kun. I'm an Uzumaki..."

"W-What?"

The older man remained silent allowing Naruto to fathom and deal with the influx of emotions he had going on.

The blonde in all conscience did not know what to think. Ever since he grew up, he had been told by his Jiji that he had no family and that his parents had been killed the day the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. If his parents were not present, that did not mean that other members of his now just recently discovered awesome clan did not exist. To be honest, this was all the blonde ever wanted. To have someone to call as _family. _Family... The word sounded so foreign to him.

"So the Old Man told me all about your unique circumstances..." The man was not able to finish as he suddenly found himself being glomped by his blonde counterpart who suddenly started sobbing. The sobbing soon started to subsume whimpers as soon as the blonde found warmth at being embraced back.

The blonde just had enough. He had kept his emotions hidden behind his fake smile for way too long. He never let people see his vulnerability. But this time, he did not care if anyone saw him being vulnerable like this. This time, he thought fuck this. He had lived enough of his life in isolation and seclusion. Consequences be damned.

Ashina just gave a sad smile when the blonde suddenly hugged and immediately hugged him back. "Shh. I'm here, Naruto-kun... You don't have to be alone anymore..."

**~~X~~**

Naruto and Ashina had been talking for a while now. With Naruto asking most of the questions and Ashina softly answering them.

"So, Ashina Nii-chan... You'll stay in Konoha now?" The blonde asked hopefully.

Ashina just smiled and ruffled the blonde's hair affectionately which made the blonde stiffen but soon relaxed into it. Ashina sighed. He knew it was difficult for him. After all, he went through the same thing at his age. So he could probably guess what was going on in that dense brain of his. This was gonna take some getting used to.

"I am, Naruto-kun. I just got done dealing with the Council and the Old Man. The paperwork's done. You're looking at the official Clan Head of the Uzumaki clan." Ashina said with a nervous smile with his hand behind his head.

"Really?! I-I'm gonna be part of a clan!"

He kept chanting the phrase over and over again. Deep down, some part of the blonde was trying to convince himself that this was all a dream and he still had no one and there was no such thing as the Uzumaki clan. He would still be an orphan. He would again wake up in his dump of an apartment in isolation and loneliness.

Ashina as sensing the blonde's thoughts put his hand on his shoulder, "Naruto-kun. I will always be with you from now on. Okay?" He smiled at the blonde and the blonde returned it but his smile was subdued.

"Nii-chan, y-you said you talked to Jiji?" Naruto asked nervously.

"Um, yeah. What about it?" Ashina inquired. He had an idea what Naruto was going to ask about.

"D-Did, uh, Jiji tell you about t-the fox?"

Ashina recalled his previous meeting with the Hokage, '_Not gonna be forgetting about that anytime soon... I don't think I've ever seen Jiji that vulnerable before...'_

_**Flashback**_

**~~X~~**

The Hokage and Ashina were in the room in which the redhead was admitted in. Ashina was sitting on the bed, with a bored expression. He wanted to get out of here. The blonde turned redhead always hated hospitals. Even as a child. He never could stay in here. For long, that is.

'_At least this place hasn't changed. These white walls still give me the creeps...'_

_'**Keep focus, Kit. We still have to convince the old geezer about everything...'**_

'_Yeah yeah..._ _But I have a feeling the Old Man already believes us by the look on his face.'_

The Hokage sat in the chair next to Ashina's bed with a paper pertaining to Ashina's test results with a dumbfounded look.

'_He really is who he says he is...'_

At first, the Hokage was sceptical but not without his own curiosity. Of course, who would believe such lunacy? But when he saw the test results, it pretty much solidified his deductions. Up to the point that his eyes were the size of saucers.

'_H-He really is Naruto-kun... But he looks so much more like Minato now... With small features of Kushina. But Naruto-kun is blonde like his father... so what's with the red hair?' _

The Hokage was staring at Ashina with his dumbfounded look ever since an Iryo-nin arrived with the test results pertaining to his lineal information. Ashina was getting annoyed now.

"What?"

"I-It really is you, Naruto-kun." The Hokage was able to get out.

"Um, yeah. I kinda told you that..."

Looking at Naruto now, he found that it was kind of hard to pertain differences between him and Minato except for the hair and the whisker marks. He had the same masculine features with a hint of femininity in them. Azure eyes. Yep. Exactly like Minato. Although his eyes showed a glint of mischief. His body language. Some of his facial features were not reminiscent of Minato. Definitely Kushina. Chibi Naruto was more like Kushina in every way, as far as his facial features were concerned. But he looked a lot more like Minato now. Everyone could tell the unmistakable consonant now that Naruto was indeed the son of The _Kiiroi Senkō._ Well, except for that red hair of course._ 'Probably deliberate on his part.' _The Hokage mused.

The Hokage cleared his throat. "Ahem. Well, I- Sorry about that. Of course, you could understand my stupefaction..." The Hokage gestured with hands feigning sarcasm.

"Of course. Of course..." Who knew the Old Man could he sarcastic?

"Well, I wish I could say I was glad to see you, Naruto-kun but something tells me that you wouldn't be here if everything was amicable." The Hokage said with a sombre tone.

The redhead casual and uncaring expression immediately took on a darkened one. "Konoha is no more. Burned to the ground..."

The Hokage immediately felt as though his heart had suddenly become hollow. He simply could not imagine a world where Konoha did not reside. He suddenly realised that the person standing in front of him was none other than the Naruto Uzumaki... The very same boy who was shunned by the villagers for something which they could not and did not want to comprehend.

Now the Sandaime had years of experience. Both in wars and negotiations. You could call him the _Kami No Shinobi _for many things. But over the past few years, ever since he retook the mantle of being Hokage, the old war-ridden Hokage had become slightly _neglectful. _He did not have the same charisma as he once did. He even let himself become overwhelmed by the Council at times by his advisors, the decision most conspicuously being the Uchiha Massacre. Now, the Uchihas deserved what they got to them. There was no denying that. They were power-hungry, jutsu-copying bastards, as a certain bandaged comrade of his liked to phrase. But doing this had done a condemnable thing to one of the only good, honourable and righteous Uchihas left who took the censure as having the burden of being both a Shinobi of Konoha and dolorously as a member of his clan. The Hokage still felt guilty and lost many nights of slumber because of that. _'There could've been another way...' _There was also the Hyuuga Affair. Accepting Kumogakure's demands as a last resort. Especially after what they tried to do. _'I shouldn't have accepted it...' _He also felt ample amounts of guilt in regards to a certain whiskered blonde. He also knew of the blonde's secret which made him all the more aggregated with guilt. _'I should've fought for him. I should've...' _Simply put, Hiruzen as in accordance with himself and his consciousness, was simply too old and for the most part, exhausted perpetually from his position. He was just not the same anymore.

But the aura and semblance that the redhead had flaunted confidence and charisma which was so unlike his chibi version. This Naruto displayed the same nuance as his parents. The same charisma, charm and magnetism. The inborn and in-depth natal preeminence which was not in a hubristic sense, more like in regards to plenary guidance.

The expression the Hokage held was a grave and remorseful one. He felt proud of Naruto for making it this far but not without traces of his own guilt seeping in. For not being there for the blonde. And for the sake of his beloved village. Somehow he felt responsible like he could not do anything to prevent such a monstrosity. But he quickly shook it off as his stupefaction taking hold of him and because there were more important concerns to look into.

A few minutes went by as Ashina sat waiting for the Hokage to comprehend what he said. He knew that the Old Man needed a few moments.

The Hokage did not know what to think. His love for Konoha which was implanted by his Sensei Tobirama and Hashirama was overwhelming... and it felt like a fresh Katon Jutsu to the chest to hear that his beloved village was no more. That the _Will Of Fire _itself and everything it stood for was no more. It had perished. Hiruzen shuddered at the thought.

"This is grave news, Naruto-kun." The Hokage said with a sombre tone.

"You don't say..."

The Hokage sighed, "As much as I would love for you to ensue sarcasm in our conversation, we have many more important things that require diligence, don't you think?"

"Of course." Ashina replied immediately straightened.

"I take it you were the Hokage?" The Hokage asked.

"Yes. The Nanadaime."

"Oh? Who was the Rokudaime?" The Hokage asked with a hint of vehemence.

"Kakashi." Ashina said with a smile.

"I-I see."

To be honest, the Hokage was not all that surprised about that particular fact. He always thought about who would be his successor and Kakashi always seemed like the logical decision other than that lazy ass Nara who would be the best suited but The Hokage knew that he would not submit to this role willingly and he was simply too lazy for it.

The Hokage paused for a while and looked at Ashina with a contemplative expression. He already knew that everyone from Ashina's generation had been bereft of life, if Ashina's expression was anything to apprehend. So he did not find the need to question his role nor his generation's.

"W-Who was behind it and what became of the other villages?" The Hokage asked with a hint of finality.

"Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito." Ashina said with a tone full of spite and contempt.

The room suddenly felt cold to the Hokage. He had heard of the traitorous Uchiha from his sensei. The legendary leader of the clan. One of the founders of the Konoha village itself. The only formidable opponent to go head-on-head with the aboriginal _Kami No Shinobi _Senju Hashirama. '_How is he still alive? It's_ _not possible...' _As for the second Uchiha... '_Obito? He was one of Minato's students... Didn't he die in the war saving his teammates?' _The Hokage then turned to Ashina. He would inquire later.

"And as for the other villages... I'm kind of worried that I might jinx the timeline. I've already revealed information that I shouldn't have... At least in regards to events that might actually change something significant…

'_I'm either in a parallel universe or in a paradoxical loop. I'll have to consult Kurama about this. The Jutsu should have negated the paradox. It shouldn't affect the future if I do things without relevance to the past in case of a parallel. But if it's a paradox. It's safe to say I'm probably fucked. Cause if that's the case, then even my mere presence can affect the timeline. Fuck you, Madara. At least Jiji doesn't know about this and for the time being, I shouldn't tell him either. At least not before I talk to Kurama.'_

I didn't account for that as I was about to get captured. And without really testing the Jutsu and accounting for all the correspondence relevant to time-travel, I shouldn't say anything. At least in regards to major events. Which would drastically affect anything. So wait for a while and I'll give you the information if the circumstances don't change in regards to the timeline."

The Hokage considered it and said, "Fair enough."

"Your sensei wasn't really forthcoming with the information that much either." Ashina said with a small scorn which was reminiscent of Kushina. The Hokage felt his guilt creeping up on him again and figured he could not keep it in anymore.

"But I suppose it wasn't really relevant at that time with the War going on..." Ashina trailed off once he saw the look on Hiruzen's face.

"What's wrong, Old Man?" Ashina inquired.

Hiruzen suddenly bowed his head in shame not able to look Ashina in the eyes, "Naruto-kun... I'm sorry... for not being there for you... for not fighting harder for you... for not taking you in... for not taking care of you... for not training you... I-I never knew that it was this bad... and even that is an understatement... Even though you never complained once... I'm sorry..."

Ashina remained quiet and the look on his face was a blank one. The Hokage continued, "There is also the matter of your inheritance. I still haven't told your younger counterpart about it... thinking that it was for the best. B-But when I heard from the Anbu that you tried to... take your own life because of the way the villagers treated you... ostracised you... I-I thought that the law I implemented would help, but it was the exact opposite... Your parents would be ashamed of me... There's also the matter of the Kyuubi... Your counterpart just found out about it... How am I supposed to look him in the eyes now? Knowing that I lied to him... He's probably heartbroken right now and it's all my fault..."

The Hokage trailed off after having said what he wanted to say. Ashina still had a blank look on his but it changed into one of understanding. He put his hand on Hiruzen's shoulder and said, "Jiji, trust me when I say that, I forgave you and everyone else a long time ago... All of you had a long time to repent for the decisions you made regarding me..." Ashina said knowing that he still had the time travel paradox to keep in mind and the Hokage understood.

"However, I'm not the one you should be asking forgiveness from... I already dealt with my demons a long time ago. It's for my Chibi to decide whether he forgives you or not. I will tell him everything about Tou-chan and Kaa-chan but in due time. Your forgiveness lies with him. Same goes for Ero-sensei and Baa-chan..."

'_Fair enough.' _The Hokage felt a small amount of relief and gave a small smile inwardly. He knew what he had to do. He owned it to both Minato, Kushina and of course their child to at least to ask Naruto himself for his forgiveness. The Hokage chuckled when he heard the moniker. He knew who it meant, of course.

"Fair enough. And Baa-chan?"

"Tsunade. She and I grew close together. You know she's part Uzumaki... so she's family."

"I see. Well, I'll send for a message for Jiraiya. Do you want to let him know about yourself?" The Hokage asked and smiled when he heard about his student.

Ashina pondered for a moment and considered, "Maybe. Maybe not. As I said, there's still the..."

"Time travel." The Hokage interrupted.

"Yes."

They both remained quiet for a moment before Ashina broke it, "Old man, I have some demands..." Hiruzen nodded for the redhead to continue.

"First of all, delay the team placements. At least for about 2 months. And let me stay in the Uzumaki compound. I'll establish the clan here."

The Hokage was about to voice his concerns but Ashina beat him to it, "I'll handle the council. I know about them. They'll probably voice some type of conciliation. But I'll take care of it." Ashina stated.

"I see... Why do you need two months?" The Hokage asked slightly confused at his demands.

"To train Chibi... In just about everything. He'll be living with me, of course. You are already aware of the fact that he knows the _Kage Bunshin _and you know just how commodious and versatile it is for us Uzumaki. Get him started on Fūinjutsu and maybe on Kenjutsu. He's gotta stay true to his roots." Ashina responded.

"Also, Chibi's going to be with me. I'll take on a team. But instead of three, I'll take only two genin."

"Certain exceptions have been made in accordance with team placements. So that can be arranged. Who do you have in mind?"

Ashina smiled but it was slightly perturbed, "Probably the only person who truly ever understood me. Hyuuga Hinata."

"Oh? Why her in particular?" Asked the Hokage slightly confused.

"She was my fiance..."

The Hokage heard Ashina say her name and saw the pain flash through his eyes when he spoke it. Hiruzen knew that pain all too well. He had been through two wars. Lost comrades. Lost his friends, his sensei. But this pain was different from all the others. It was the pain when the person whom you gave your heart to, who was everything to you, was dead.

"She passed away, didn't she?" The Hokage could not help but ask.

"Yes. She gave her life for me... I-I just wish I could've..."

"Done something different. You're going over the scenario a thousand times and drowning yourself in guilt. Nothing good's ever going to come out of that, Naruto-kun. Trust me on this." The Hokage interrupted knowing that familiar darkness which he himself still felt up to this day.

"You know I tried to take my own life. Not once but twice when I was just a stupid kid. People never found out because the fox always healed me... It's a miracle the seal remained intact. I'm not trying to make you guilty, Jiji... But it's the truth. It happened in my timeline and it happened in this one. Looking back now, I can see the despair that my eyes held... But you know what changed all that? It was after the genin exams in my timeline, I attempted it once again and jumped from the Hokage monument. Little did I know, Hinata was watching everything and jumped after me and caught me. When I asked her why...

She said, _'because you're everything to me...'_ I was so dense back then. I never knew how much she loved me... until much later on when we became friends after the incident. She was everything to me, Old Man. And I'll be damned if my Chibi is gonna make the same mistakes I did. It was only after meeting Hinata, that I changed for the better... I mean, friends helped but she changed me... made me a better person. Helped me out of my melancholy. Taught me leniency, taught me what love actually was..."

The Hokage nodded not being able to say anything. Was he in the right to say anything in regards to Naruto's life? Maybe he had lost that privilege, but there was still a chance to redeem himself and he would take it. And he would try his best to keep making up for his mistakes.

"We'll have to think of a guise for you." Hiruzen said changing the evocative subject. "I will 'reinstate' you in the Konoha Shinobi forces. You were on a long term mission and were in the Anbu before that. Show me your arm so I can place the Anbu tattoo there."

"Sounds good." Ashina said giving his arm.

Hiruzen flashed through a series of hand-seals and placed his palm on Ashina's shoulder. The Anbu mark sizzled on Ashina's shoulder and appeared in a faded red.

"There. Suits you, Naruto-kun. It makes wonder if your counterpart joins the Anbu. Your pranks might liven up the Captain's dull soul."

"Yeah. Hurt like a bitch though."

"It does that."

"And about joining... Nah, I know myself. I wouldn't be able to adapt to the meticulous lifestyle. I may be strong but I need my sleep." Ashina said with a small grin and the Hokage returned it.

"And what about an alias?"

"Uzumaki Ashina." The redhead answered.

"Oh? The Uzumaki clan head?"

The redhead gave a light chuckle, "Yes. The very same."

"_The forefather of Konoha's Fūinjutsu. _Quite a notorious reputation you have to keep up to... Ashina-kun."

"Thanks, Old Man... But I'll manage." Ashina replied without revealing too much. He did not want to divulge any of his abilities unless he absolutely had to. Not even to The Hokage himself. "_Deception is the essence of being a Shinobi" is what Kakashi-sensei used to say. One of the minute things the lazy ass taught me when I was just a genin...' _Cliché, of course. Ashina knew that, but efficient also.

"If that's all, Old Man... You should call for the Council meeting now. I figure if I can get done with it now, rather than later... I could visit Chibi after this."

The Council was not going to make this easy. The Hokage sighed and called for his Anbu. He then rubbed his temples, _'Why do I feel like I have a migraine coming? I'm really getting too old for this shit...'_

**~~X~~**

Hinata bent down for the umpteenth time that day and coughed as she felt her chest swell as pain aggravated inside it.

"Again."

She stood trying to ignore the aching pain in her left hamstring which was swelling due to a Jūken strike and again took her Gentle Fist form. 50 out of 361 of her Tenketsu had been closed off by her younger sister Hanabi.

Her sister moved forward to strike Hinata with a palm strike. Hinata tried to block it but due to the searing pain in her ribcage, could not do it fast enough and almost took the full brunt of the blow.

Hiashi was watching all of this with a fierce demeanour. He then decided that he had seen enough. He held up his hand and signalled for them to stop,

"Enough. Both of you, go get yourself's cleaned up. Hanabi, it is almost time for your instructor to arrive. Hinata, meet me in the study with Kurenai-san."

Both of them bowed to their father and then to each other and then left. Yuuhi Kurenai was watching all of this with a grief-stricken look which was verily discordant on her beautiful face. She and Hinata had grown very close to each other ever since she been appointed by the Hokage and Hiashi for looking after her to a certain degree. She had started viewing Hinata as her younger sister. Who wouldn't consider her as one? She was so benevolent and caring but mostly reserved, almost like a gentle wallflower. Always kind and compassionate to people who were the exact verbal antagonists to her. _'Just like her arrogant asshole of a cousin.' _Kurenai inferred. It really pissed her off, even more than perversion, was that members of the clan reacted towards Hinata this way saying things like, _'she's weak_' and_ 'unworthy of the clan.'_

Kurenai knew that Hinata had the potential to become of the best Jūken users in the clan. She had seen the way Hinata had practised her Katas and sparred with her a couple of times, Kurenai knew that she could become exceptional at the art if her confidence could be resolved. She had excellent chakra control. Only one factor handicapped her and it was her chakra reserves which could be developed if worked on. How Hiashi never saw all this was beyond Kurenai.

Kurenai sighed remorsefully when she recalled a conversation she had with Hinata. It was not that Hinata did not want to win. She simply did not want to hurt her little sister. It started out as simply defending herself and not retaliating her sister's strikes, which as time passed, turned into throwing her matches away simply for the sake of not hurting Hanabi. Her father grew more and colder towards Hinata as he saw Hanabi winning over her elder sister. Which started to demoralise Hinata's confidence and self-respect.

Kurenai had not noticed that Hyuuga Kō's presence. He then called out to her, "Kurenai-san, your presence is requested with Hiashi-sama."

"Thank you. I'll be there shortly." Kurenai replied with a small nod of her head. Kō bowed and then left.

**~~X~~**

Kurenai made her way to Hiashi's study. The design of the study was extravagant but not overly lush. It was a moderate-sized dojo. Behind Hiashi's desk was an assortment of various katanas which were probably exorbitant. It was a balance of nobility with luxury. Which was reflected upon the Hyuuga themselves. As they were known as the most powerful clan in Konoha with _'their all-seeing eyes'._ Kurenai thought that was a bit excessive on their part.

Hiashi was sitting behind his small desk in the traditional manner, in front of him were various papers relevant to clan business. Hinata was sitting on the left of Hiashi, in the same dignified manner as her father but something was different. Looking closely at Hinata's expression, it was patent to Kurenai that Hinata was heartbroken about something the way her lavender-tinted eyes held unshed tears and had a tight grip on her kimono.

Kurenai gave a small smile to Hinata and discreetly mouthed the words, '_It's going to be okay...' _That seemed to work slightly as Hinata gave a small smile back but still held a grim expression. Kurenai frowned inwardly but knew she was going to find out soon enough so made her way in front of the desk and gave a small bow, "Hiashi-sama."

"Greetings, Kurenai-san. Please sit." Hiashi replied cordially. Kurenai nodded and sat down in front of Hiashi's desk.

"How are your injuries?" Hiashi inquired in a neutral but cold tone.

"I'm feeling quite better, Hiashi-sama. Thank you for asking." Kurenai smiled inwardly thinking of a certain redheaded Uzumaki but remained neutral in front of the Clan Head.

"I'll get straight to the point, Kurenai-san. The spar that was conducted was to determine to Heiress position of the Clan... It has been decided that Hinata is to be disinherited from the Heiress position and the position is to be given to Hanabi."

Kurenai was shocked at what was disclosed. She understood now why Hinata had such a forlorn expression. Being honest, Kurenai felt pity for the indigo-haired girl... Ostracised by her clan, rejected by her own father in favour of her little sister. '_She must be so heartbroken right now... You're such a bastard, Hiashi. You and your clan are blind for not seeing Hinata for who she truly is...' _She cursed inwardly.

"I-I see." She said with a cold tone barely keeping a hold on her sentiments.

If Hiashi was affected by Kurenai's cold demeanour, he did not show it, "I'm officially assigning Hinata under your wardship. As of now, she is officially disinherited from the Clan Heiress position. She is to be under your care but she will remain in the Hyuuga compound. She will train here. But she will primarily be under your care from now on, as she is unworthy of the Hyuuga."

Kurenai did not say anything so Hiashi dismissed both her and Hinata. They made their way in the garden of the compound. As soon as they were alone and away from prying eyes, Hinata suddenly pounced at Kurenai wrapping her arms around her and started crying. Kurenai could not help but shed tears of her own. She just embraced her back and whispered and cooed soothing words to the girl telling her that everything will be alright.

**~~X~~**

Naruto had a nervous look on his face as he sat anticipating his newfound Nii-chan's answer to his polemical question.

"Yeah, I know of it. So what?"

Naruto heard that then blinked once, then twice. "Whazzat?" He scratched his head thinking he had not heard the redhead correctly.

Ashina just laughed when he saw the confused look on the blonde's face which turned into a glare upon seeing the older man chuckling. Naruto was about to beat him down when, "Sorry, I'm sorry!" Ashina's expression turned serious but still smiled warmly at his Chibi.

"Naruto-kun, I told you that our clan was adept in Fūinjutsu, right?"

The blonde nodded so Ashina continued, "Well, there is a seal called the _Hakke no Fūin Shiki._ It was developed by our clan. Normally, a _Shishō Fūin _is used to, say... seal a large enemy or an evil spirit into a target, such as an object or a human body." He grinned when he saw the blonde pale at the mention of evil spirits. "If the Shishō Fūin is not strong enough to hold the desired entity, a stronger variant of the seal is used which is called the Hakke no Fūin Shiki_. _With me so far?"

The blonde looked a little confused not used to that type of lexicons but understood what Ashina said about the seal, "So there are two versions of the seal you said?"

Ashina nodded, happy that Naruto was discerning it. He continued, "Correct. The Hakke no Fūin Shiki is actually one integral with two seals overlapped with each other of the same render, this allows the enemy/spirit's chakra to merge with whoever they're sealed into." The blonde nodded along and asked whatever he misunderstood or needed clarification.

Ashina then continued, "Raise your shirt, Naruto-kun and focus some of your chakra on your stomach." The blonde nodded nervously.

"It's nothing to be scared of, Naruto-kun. Trust me, I won't let anything happen. Trust your Nii-chan, okay?"

The blonde nodded feeling slightly better and raised his shirt showing his slightly tanned stomach. He took a deep breath and focused his chakra to the sanctioned area. A seal appeared in the shape of a spiral with a peculiar pattern surrounding it.

"Aaaahh!"

"Calm down, Naruto-kun!"

The blonde instantly calmed down, but still slightly scared of the seal. He was putting on a stout face but deep down he felt unnerved about the fact that he was a 'demon'.

"Now… You understand what I was trying to explain to you, Naruto-kun?

"I-I think so…"

"The fox inside of you is real. There's no denying that. And nothing will change that. But that doesn't have to necessarily be a bad thing, ya know? You are a Jinchūriki, Naruto-kun. Fūinjutsu is easy enough to get the simple fact that the fox is sealed inside of you but it's a separate entity and you another. You are not a demon and you never will be. No person saying otherwise will change that… Simply put, the fox is the jailed and you are the jailer…"

_'**I take offence to that.'**_

Ashina sweatdropped, _'Sorry about that, furball…'_

_'**Oi!'**_

Naruto was processing what Ashina said in the meantime... and then pondered, "What did you mean when you said it doesn't have to be a bad thing and what's a Jinchūriki, Nii-chan?"

"Oh, sorry. I didn't tell you about that. Jinchūriki are humans that have a Bijū sealed within them. There are nine total Bijū in existence. They are differentiated by the number of tails they have. The fox is one of them which is the _Kyuubi no Kitsune_. The strongest out of all of them." Ashina explained.

_'**I'm flattered, Kit.'**_

Ashina laughed, _'Don't get used to it, furball…'_

The blonde nodded. Ashina put his hand on the blonde's shoulder, "Listen carefully, Naruto-kun. Each Jinchūriki had its own purpose in its village. In our village, the tailed beast was sealed to save the village. In Sunagakure, the abilities that manifested in their Jinchūriki were studied so that non-jinchūriki could replicate them… More often than not in most of the villages, the Jinchūriki were meant to be nothing more than military potential, with little regard for the Jinchūriki or even the tailed beast itself..." Ashina said with a slightly angered tone at the end. Even though the future things changed for the better, that did not mean that he had to appreciate it. Same went for Kurama.

"O-Oh…" The blonde said slightly sad at the fact that the villages would treat others like him as just 'military potential'.

Ashina then put a hand on the blonde's head and ruffled his hair, "That doesn't mean the same for you, Naruto-kun. The Old Man protected you from the people who wanted to turn you into a weapon because the Yondaime Hokage asked him to…"

"B-But why did the Yondaime choose me? Why not anyone else?" The blonde asked slightly frustrated with the thoughts going on in his head.

Ashina smiled at the blonde, "Because he believed in you... He thought that you were the one who would change _everything… _You don't wanna disappoint the Yondaime now, do you?"

"N-No! I'll be the best there ever was! Believe it!" Naruto said with a warm smile thrilled that his idol would give him a sense of obligation, almost back to his exuberant self.

"Good..."

'_Because I'll train you to be the best there ever was, Naruto-kun. Believe it…'_

**~~X~~**

**Now, I know some things couldn't be covered like Chibi knowing about his parents and his confrontation with Hiruzen. That will all be covered as the chapters go by. Leave reviews. I'll try my best to reply. Thanks again.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Settling In

**Hey. Okay, so I apologise for the late update. I really pushed hard for this one. I suffered from writer's block for a while, it was come and go for this chapter. The next update will probably take longer cause I have my finals coming up so I won't be able to write for a while. Again, I'm really thankful for the reviews and favourites. I worked hard on this chapter. Lotta research for this one. Beta-read by Valkipher, huge thanks to him as always. As you guys judged so far, this fic will have a slow buildup. I'm working out the pacing as I go on. It's all still new to me. With that being said, hope you guys like the chapter.**

**~~X~~**

Naruto and Ashina had made their way to the Uzumaki/Namikaze clan compound. The compound itself was surrounded by a reinforced wooden wall. The wall was contrived by Senju Hashirama as a gesture of recognition for the Uzumaki clan. It was about roughly ten feet; surrounding the compound. The Uzumaki whirlpool was imprinted on the wall on regular intervals in a faded blood red. The compound itself was not colossal but on account of the clan's obscurity; their techniques and Jutsu, precaution was mandatory. The compound was roughly an acre. But was ensconced diligently.

The gateway itself was donned with the Uzumaki crest carved into the surface with the gates intersecting the symbol in two.

Ashina made his way in front of the gate with Naruto following behind anxiously. Naruto found it kind of daunting when his Nii-chan had told him that he would be living with him in one of the most affluent accommodations Konoha had to offer. But when his Nii-chan told him that his mother used to live here a while ago before getting married to his father; he changed his mind. He wanted to know as much as he could about his family. He wanted to ask his Nii-chan about them but could not find the mettle to do so. He was apprehensive that maybe if he found out, he would not like the outcome. Ashina sensed what the blonde was pensive about. He knew once he had mentioned Kushina, even if it was just an innuendo, the blonde would most likely inquire about their parents.

'_All in due time, Naruto-kun.'_

Ashina channelled his chakra to the front of the symbol. The seal consisted of several webs bound together by lattice like arrays overlapped with each other. One of the arrays, Ashina knew, was bounded individually for traits specifically heredity. _'Wonders of Fūinjutsu.'_ Ashina pondered. If Kushina and Minato were able to open it, imminently that meant he could too of course. The spiral twisted mechanically and the gates swung open. A courtyard was visible entering the gates. Behind the courtyard was the compound itself. It was a traditional design. The front of the compound resembled the Uzumaki Mask Storage Temple with the whirlpool donning the entrance in front of the staircase. The lower section of the compound was not visible although Ashina knew it contained a dojo that Kushina and Minato clandestinely used for testing Jutsu which were not for the generality of people. It also had a personal library and an established area for clan meetings and such. Not that Ashina had any use for that. For now, at least.

Upstairs, bedchambers were available with a dedicated master room for the clan head himself. Everything was chalky and arenose. Minato and Kushina had planned to move in permanently after little Naruto was born but... _'Things happened.' _Ashina pondered sadly. He shook himself quickly of those thoughts and made seal-less _Kage Bunshin _to get started on cleaning. As soon as the clones appeared, "You can do the Kage Bunshin too, Nii-chan?!" Naruto asked in his usual demeanour better after the talk he had.

Ashina chuckled, "Of course. Most members of the clan know it. I told you about Uzumaki vitality and chakra, being an Uzumaki has it's perks, right?"

Before Naruto could ask more, "Yes, you can make them as many as I can too. But your chakra control isn't as developed as mine is. You'll have to learn to be careful. Otherwise, you'll get exhausted easily. You already have much bigger reserves than the rest of your class but it's all for nothing if you can only do the Kage Bunshin and can't utilise all of it." Ashina said before he saw the sad pout on the blonde's face. He flicked his forehead,

"Ow!"

Ashina chuckled when he saw the blonde glaring at him, "Cheer up... That's what I'm here for, aren't I? Have you ever wondered why you couldn't do the regular bunshin? While everyone else in the class excelled at it?"

"You don't have to make me feel bad, Nii-chan. I already know I suck at it.", mumbled Naruto with a frown.

"Let me finish, Naruto-kun. The reason is because of your massive chakra reserves. It's because they're so gigantic, you have horrible chakra control. Plus you have the Fox's chakra. That itself is a behemoth. Fixing that is going to be the first step in our training."

"We're gonna start training?!"

"Yes, we are. Let's go down to the dojo. I also want to talk to you about something important."

**~~X~~**

The dojo was not an extensive one. It had an assortment of training materials. Shuriken, kunai, a selection of practice katanas, practice dummies.

Naruto was amazed and bewildered at the same time. He never knew that the Uzumaki clan existed in Konoha. He never realised that the symbol that his Jii-san told him to wore always, whether his PJ's, his shirts, his jumpsuit, was in all actuality the symbol of the clan. His clan. The totally awesome and kick-ass sealing jutsu clan. Speaking of his Jii-san,

'_Why didn't Jiji ever say anything?'_

Ashina was watching Naruto with a keen eye. He knew now was the perfect occasion for the fox to instigate him.

Naruto was quite honestly... pissed at his Jii-san for having kept this information from him for so long. All the abuse he went through when he was little. All the neglect. Was it worth it? His hands were starting to convulse. Where was all this hatred coming from? There was just so much _anger._

Deep inside the recesses of Naruto's mindscape, behind a steel gate with a sealing mechanism, the depth of darkness revealed two blood-red slitted eyes which had an aura of malice surrounding them.

'_**It's happening. If we're going to do something, I suggest we do it now.'**_

'_Yeah, I can feel it. The jutsu should work, we tested it on the training field... But I'm not going to take the risk right now... with him being so vulnerable. Let him deal with the trauma first.'_

'_**You trust that he can resist it?'**_

'_He won't fail.'_

'_**I know, Kit... but be mindful of the chakra. It's still potent. It won't harm us but the people will still recognise it.'**_

Ashina looked over to Naruto to see how he was holding up. He did not look like he was in a good place. He was holding his head. His eyes were beginning to slit and his canines were starting to cuspidate. His head suddenly started throbbing intensely.

Naruto always had an odd nightmare mechanism. His nightmares almost invariably depicted _death_. Of everyone close to him. Inside his dream, the precipice was peculiarly the same, a _voice_, which sounded infernal, vicious, and ravenous, told him to kill. Just _kill._ Everyone and everything.

He never listened to it. He would always try to ignore it. But dreams never listened to him. He would stay awake the rest of the night hoping that the nightmares might go away.

He was perceiving voices in his head tending him to go and slaughter everyone and everything. He was holding his head, the pain was becoming unbearable.

'_**Give in...'**_

"**No!"**

Naruto's voice sounded feral. Ashina suddenly grabbed Naruto's arm which made Naruto fall forward but Ashina caught him. That seemed to work slightly as Naruto's eyes started to restore to their original cerulean blue but they were still slitted. He still looked like he was not himself as he looked scared and confused.

"Snap out of it, Naruto-kun! Listen to my voice. Listen to your Nii-chan, okay?"

Ashina started stroking the blonde's shoulders to calm him down. That seemed to work as Naruto locked eyes with his Nii-chan with a perturbed look but was reciprocating now.

"N-Nii-chan? W-What happened?"

"Okay, come with me, Naruto-kun. Can you walk?"

"I-I think so... I-It's just my head hurts really bad. Did I fall down or somethin'?"

Ashina helped Naruto walk to the nearest support in the dojo and helped him lean against it. He then took a scroll from one of his leg pouches and unsealed a bottle of water, and held it to the blonde's mouth.

"Just drink a bit. It'll help." Once Naruto was finished. Ashina looked at him with a serious expression.

"Tell me everything, Naruto-kun. And I mean _**everything**_**.**"

Naruto gulped because he had never seen his Nii-chan with such a solemn expression before. It all came to mind what happened, "I-I... It just came to my mind all of a sudden, Nii-chan... Why didn't Jiji ever say anything about the fox to me?"

"Okay... Go on..."

"A-And a-all of a sudden my head was pounding... it was like someone was bangin' my head against the wall. I-I just fell all this _anger..._There was just so... much... anger. And I kept hearing this voice inside my head..."

Naruto paused after this and stared at his Nii-chan with a nervous expression. The serious expression that the redhead had held, softened, upon seeing the state of his chibi.

"Hey, it's okay... Go on."

Naruto gave a nervous smile to the redhead and his apprehensive expression changed into a grave one, "I-I have nightmares sometimes, Nii-chan... T-There's always t-this scary voice that keeps telling me t-to kill everyone... E-Even though I don't want to... I-I still d-do it... I-It's like the voice i-is controlling me... making me do it..."

The blonde had tears in his eyes. Ashina was looking at the blonde with a woeful expression. '_I know how you feel, Naruto-kun... I know...' _Ashina did not say anything so the blonde continued after taking a moment to handle himself, "I-I heard the same voice again... It said to give in... Wha-What does that mean, Nii-chan? And why am I hearing the voice from my nightmares? Jiji always said it didn't exist..."

Ashina sighed. He wanted to wait but, '_So what do you think, Kurama?'_

'_**It's happening sooner than we thought. But it's nothing to be alarmed about.'**_

'_Ya sure?'_

'_**Well, probably.' **_Ashina sighed.

Kurama sort of felt he owned it to the Kit to sort of explain it and justify himself, _**'Kit, you know how I was back then. All I saw was hatred... I gave up on humanity itself... I know we have not talked about it because there was war everywhere but if I knew about what the Old Man had planned back then...'**_

Kurama stopped when Ashina held up his hand, _'Don't sweat it, furball. We never could've known what Old Man Six Paths wanted. And we can't change the past... no matter how much we want to.'_

The fox remained silent. Ashina then held up his fist for the Bijū. Kurama saw this and chuckled. He then bumped his fist with the redhead who just smiled back_, 'We're cool, furball...'_

Ashina sighed again_, 'Now on to more pressing concerns...'_

He turned to look at his blonde counterpart.

"Naruto-kun."

Said blonde looked at his Nii-chan with his apprehensive look, "Nii-chan?"

Ashina sat next to the blonde, "Listen, I have to tell you something but you have to promise me something, okay?"

The blonde nodded so Ashina continued, "Just promise me to keep an open mind. Learn to control your temper. We're going to be going through chakra control exercises that will help with it. But I want you to try... to work on it by yourself too, ya know?"

Naruto just looked at the redhead with a confused expression, "Um, ok."

"These nightmares you have... it's the same voice every time, right? And a couple of times you might've ended up in a sewer-like tunnel."

The blonde's expression was becoming more and more pale upon hearing of the place which had haunted him up to this day. Ashina continued,

"Naruto-kun, it's the Kyūbi."

"What..."

Ashina remained silent letting Naruto proceed with his approach to the subject.

Naruto got up all of a sudden irate, "Why?!"

"What does the stupid fox want with me?! Doesn't it know how much pain I went through with the villagers?! How much pain they me cause of it?!"

Naruto was breathing hard from that outburst. Ashina looked at the blonde with a solemn expression, "Naruto-kun, listen to me. The fox was jailed ever since you were born... I'm not saying the fox is innocent but look at it from the Kyūbi's perspective... his way of viewing it, ya know?"

Naruto said nothing so Ashina continued, "Ever since the beginning of time, tailed beasts were used as weapons for the Shinobi world. I already told you about that, right?"

Naruto nodded so Ashina smiled and continued, "Well, the Kyūbi was first sealed by the Shodai Hokage inside of, believe it... an Uzumaki. She was the Shodai's wife. Uzumaki Mito, but you can call her Mito baa-chan."

"Eeeehhh... The Shodai's wife was also..."

"Exactly. She was a kunoichi who originated from Uzushiogakure. She was the first Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi."

Naruto was listening to the redhead with a keen perspective so Ashina continued, "She was exceptional at fūinjutsu, Naruto-kun. Able to seal the entirety of the Kyūbi within herself. Even for an Uzumaki, she had an especially powerful and unique type of chakra. She was also able to sense negative emotions in people. '_Although that ability is due to Kurama. But Chibi doesn't need to know that...'_"

"She was able to seal the Kyūbi... And within herself?! Why would she do that, Nii-chan? Doesn't she know what being a Jinchūriki is like?" The blonde stated sadly.

**Smack!**

"Ow! What hit me?!" Chibi looked around but saw nothing other than his good old Nii-chan who was looking at him with an amused expression.

"Why, me of course." Ashina said with an amused smile that made the blonde's eye twitch.

The blonde was glaring at the redhead but said redhead was impassive, "Mito baa-chan was happy, Naruto-kun. Despite being a Jinchūriki."

This statement seemed to shock the blonde. Ashina put his hand on the blonde's shoulder and continued, "And if she could do it... then so can you. Okay?"

Naruto said nothing for a while but his expression changed into one of determinism suddenly, "I-I can and I will, Nii-chan. Believe it!" The blonde pumped his fist for emphasis.

"That's the spirit, Naruto-kun. Now let's get started!" The redhead stated with enthusiasm reminiscent of handsome green beasts.

"Start what, Nii-chan?" The blonde asked innocently.

"My dear cute student... your training, of course. And you will refer to me as Ashina sensei when we're training... _**Understood**_**?**" Ashina stated with an unnerving tone at the end which made the blonde pale a little.

"H-Hai!"

Ashina smirked.

"Good. Let's begin."

**~~X~~**

Yuugao was sitting in the dango cafe slightly depressed and confused at the same time. She sighed compunctiously and laid her head on the wooden table with a cute pout, _'Why did I have to embarrass myself?'_

_**Flashback**_

**~~X~~**

The medic had just left after attending to the mysterious redheaded shinobi. Neko aka Uzuki Yuugao was inside and guarding the room. The only you could hear in the room was the light snoring coming from the bed.

The redhead was on the bed and breathing peacefully but the Anbu could also feel a strong presence from him. As she was a sensor like her sister figure Kurenai, she could not neglect such a potent source of chakra.

'_Kami. He must have twice as much chakra as Hokage-sama...'_

Yuugao was one of the regular Anbu stationed to the Hokage himself recurrently. And a habitual guard at the Hokage residence. So she knew how much powerful the Sandaime himself was in terms of chakra. But this person in front of her, he was mammoth. Up to the point that it was colossal. More than the Hokage himself. The only other person who was close to this much chakra in a single embodiment was a cute little gaki that she had grown to be so fond of.

'_So this man saved Naruto-kun...'_

Yuugao thought that was quite fortuitous. Usually, people were always boorish towards the child she was so fond of. Some people even went as far as attacking the child when he was little. That was when Yuugao had to arbitrate at first as she pledged herself as an Anbu to always serve and protect irrespective of creed. So she was protection detail a couple of times for the child. That was before the incident at the orphanage. Fortuitously, Yuugao was the one who found the blonde after he got kicked out. He was unconscious in an alley in a small hut after he got kicked out. When she saw the state of the boy, her heart shattered. The boy was so visibly malnourished, his bones were prominent.

She took him home, gave him a bath, dressed him up. Naruto was unconscious the whole time due to the extent of his exhaustion. When she pulled him out of the bath, she held him to her chest to carry him, which made her broke down in tears yet again. The boy was so devoid of human contact that he clung to her and would not let go. When she tried to pull away, he started subsuming whimpers. Her heart softened which was very unlike her. If you asked her colleagues in Anbu, they would tell you that she was as stiff as a rock, all work and no fun. It was so unusual for her... but she saw first hand how a child was being targeted for something that was out of his control. Being the target of false propaganda. Someone so little, so innocent. He did not deserve it. Not even a bit of it. So she let him stay the night with her. The cute gaki slept soundly after what seemed like his whole life so far. She notified the Hokage via one of her colleagues. The next day some civilians and the Hokage himself suffered Yuugao's wrath.

After the incident, Yuugao always kept an eye on Naruto, in the shadows. Always made sure he was provided for. Practically threatened the Hokage to provide Naruto a home which he planned to anyways but Yuugao was... assertive and the Hokage knew better than to piss off an already pissed off woman. Stocked his supply of ramen from time to time. Applied some Fūin seals on his apartment to fend off mobs. She wanted to adopt Naruto but the Hokage would not let her. Saying it was dangerous for an Anbu to raise a child. Which made sense. And told her to keep her distance until he was made a Chūnin, ultimately when Naruto was old enough because it would lead to him becoming too attached and also compromise her duty as an Anbu. So Yuugao relented after much hesitation. She also suspected that there was something that the Hokage was not telling her but shook it off.

So it struck as quite the stupefaction that someone would save Naruto-kun, to her. The only handful of people which were good to the blonde that she knew of were, somehow Kakashi-senpai, Hokage-sama, Kurenai**, **Anko-chan and a cute lavender haired girl who used to follow him around from what Yuugao saw.

'_They're so cuteee togetherr~'_

While Yuugao was gushing about pairing young gakis together, the redhead stirred in his sleep. Wrinkled his nose a bit, then started snoring again. Yuugao giggled at the sight, _'Heavy sleeper, huh?' _She made her way over to the redhead. He looked so peaceful other than the occasional snoring, the shinobi was unmoving. The only slight progression was his chest moving indicating that he was breathing normally and of course, the snoring. The most noticeable thing on the redhead was his scars. They were quite prominent and visible. Yuugao thought it made him look quite sexy in her opinion. She always was a sucker for virile attributes. But then again,_ 'Which woman isn't?' _She concluded to appease the butterflies in her stomach.

Now Yuugao was a woman of virtue and dignity. She took her duties earnestly. Even her childhood friend Hayate who had a crush on her, '_Still does...' _said that she was so driven, up to the that it was deranged how much work she did. So for her to start a relationship with someone, she would do so with commitment and devoutness. That was probably the reason why she was still celibate. Even her sister figures Anko and Kurenai were like that.

She started tracing her hands on the redhead's scars. She did not know what made her do that. Some of those scars looked quite familiar. The revelation quickly came to mind which shocked Yuugao. _'They're Kenjutsu slashes...' _Her hand involuntarily went to her abdominal region, next to her solar plexus. It was her worst scar. It made her feel very insecure about herself, so she hid it from everyone and never let anyone see it. Not even Kurenai or Anko.

She quickly shook those feelings off and focused on the person in front of her, '_He must've trained himself into the ground...' _She used her fingers to trace a particular scar which made the redhead stir a bit. Her fingers must be cold. Yuugao pulled her hand back and clenched her teeth nervously.

"Sorry..." She said in a subdued voice.

Once she was sure he was in dreamland, she went back to her... fondling? Is that what it was? She did not fathom that she was feeling up the shinobi's muscles now instead of comparing scars... '_Mmm. Works out a lot too. I bet Anko-chan would have a field day with you...'_

She was so preoccupied with what she was doing that she did not even notice the Hokage walk inside the room.

"Ahem..."

**~~X~~**

Yuugao once again banged her head on the table and groaned, '_Whyyy?'_

"Still stuck on how you felt up the guy in front of our esteemed leader?"

"S-Shut up... How many times do I have to explain it to you?! I-I did not fondle the guy! I was just looking over his s-scars..." Yuugao whispered the last part at the end.

The woman laughed rather boisterously, "Keep telling yourself that, Yuugao..."

Yuugao groaned, "What are you doing here, Anko?"

Sitting in of Yuugao was Mitarashi Anko. Light brown pupil-less eyes. Spiky violet hair tied in a ponytail. Clad in her beige trench coat, wearing nothing but a mesh bodysuit underneath. Not that she would ever go beyond teasing. A miniskirt exhibiting her slender and robust thighs which were feminine in every way. Effeminate legs hidden by shin guards. A Shinobi's perfect wet dream but deadly as a serpent when condign.

Anko looked towards Yuugao with her signature smirk, "Isn't it obvious?"

"Figures..."

"And where did the _-chan _go when you called my name?" Anko pouted adorably which Yuugao would have swooned at but was not in the mood for, even a little bit.

"Y-You accused me! Of such w-wanton acts! What did you expect?! A cookie?!"

"Oh come on, Yuugao! There's no shame in admitting that you snuck a feel on the guy... Pretty lucky bastard though... getting Uzuki Yuugao to do something as _vulgar _as sneaking a feel... oh and especially when the guy was unconscious..." She emphasised on the vulgar part with her cheeky grin.

Yuugao blushed a deeper shade of red at what was implied, "Fuck off!"

Anko laughed and held up her hands in defeat. She gestured the waiter to bring two plates of dango that she loved, "Okay, I'm sorry. You still haven't told me the whole story though... Spill..."

Yuugao sighed, "I already told you that I was guarding him... The man was gravely injured, Anko-chan. He had acute trauma in multiple places from what I could see. He should be bedridden for a few days, at least."

"That doesn't explain why you talked about a person of the opposite gender for more than ten seconds."

"It's not that rare! And besides, the man saved Naruto-kun, Anko..."

"Who? Whiskers?! I thought you and the Old Man were the ones who saved the shrimp and took care of that silver-haired asshole?!" Anko emphasised by standing and slamming her hands on the table.

"Shh. Keep it down..." Yuugao gestured with her hands after the stares they got. She continued, "That's not what happened. When we got there, Naruto-kun was safe. And the shinobi who saved him was unconscious. The Hokage ordered us to take him to the hospital."

"O-Oh..."

Yuugao smirked. '_Time for a little payback...' _She leaned over the table close to Anko's face which made Anko pull back with a nervous look.

"W-Why are you looking at me like t-that?"

"It's just so cute!" Yuugao gushed even more so than usual which seemed to annoy the hell out of Anko.

"I don't get what the hell you mean..."

"Aww. And she doesn't even realise how much worried she was for little _Naru-chan!_" Yuugao faked swooned which was working because Anko was getting really frustrated now.

"W-What?! I was not! Who cares what happens to the gaki? I don't... I-I sure as hell don't care..." Anko shrugged inadvertently and seemingly but looking closely, Yuugao could see a tiny drop of sweat coming off of her brow.

'_Gotcha...'_

Yuugao knew that Anko cared about the boy because he reminded her of herself and her harsh past. Even though she was slightly hoydenish in her inclinations towards certain things, Yuugao knew underneath all that tough demeanour and semblance was a very insecure girl. Who secluded herself from the world after the events of her past. It was a tough shell to break, even for her, and even then there was some mitigation left. Not that Yuugao could blame her. She was the one who found her after all. Yuugao decided not to tease her and just drank her tea with a shit-eating grin.

Anko wanted to change the subject, "So... Ahem..." She coughed a little before continuing, "What did he look like anyways?"

Yuugao sighed, "Anko... Not this again..."

Anko waved her hands feigning innocence, "No-No messing around. I'm serious. He did save the gaki after all..." She looked down at her lap with a slight red tint on her cheeks.

Yuugao smirked, "Finally coming around, huh?"

Anko was about to retort but Yuugao cut her off by replying to her impending question, "He was about 6' feet tall... has red hair... The same red as Kushina-sempai, oddly. Let's see... What else?" She paused before replying, "H-Had a lot of scars on his body from what I could see..."

Anko smirked, "Ah. I know about your obsession with scars.. that's a major turn on for you probably. Don't deny it. You were probably gushing down there when you saw them, weren't ya?"

Yuugao blushed full red at what was implied, "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" And Anko burst out laughing.

"I j-just... couldn't resist..." Anko squeezed out whilst wiping stray tears from her eyes.

"Damn it, Anko!" Yuugao was getting pissed now and Anko knew when to stop when it came to her surrogate sister and her hellish temper.

"Okay. I'm sorry. I won't do it again... At least for now." Anko said with a nervous grin.

Yuugao sighed, "Fine. That's the best I can get from you anyways."

"So... How long do you think he'll be in the hospital?"

"He's probably going to be in for a couple of days from what I could see... Why?"

"I wanna get a good look at the guy. See who softened my sister's cold and gloomy heart..." Anko said with an overly dramatic voice.

"Speaking of hospitals... Kurenai should've been released probably two or three days ago..." Yuugao interrupted with a small blush avoiding any mention of the redhead anymore.

"Yeah... Where is Nai-chan anyways?"

**~~X~~**

Kurenai was going through a pickle of her own. She did not know what to wear to her date! '_That's definitely a first...' _Kurenai inferred.

"M-Maybe something more traditional, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata said in her soft and introverted inflection.

"Hmm... What do you think he'll go with, Hinata?"

Hinata squeaked, "I-I wouldn't know, sensei..."

Kurenai sighed. She had been trying to get her out of her reservedness and make her more susceptible and confident before team placements. She thought by helping her pick out clothes for her date, they would bond a little and she would forget all that's happened the past few days. So far it was working in that regard but her self-infliction and morale issues were far more abyssal than she had thought them to be. She definitely had her work cut out for her.

Kurenai shook herself from those thoughts to the present and grinned at Hinata, "Now now, Hinata... You have to know a little bit at least. Don't you wanna go on a date like this with Uzumaki-kun someday?"

Hinata let out an 'eep' at the mention of her ever so unrelenting crush.

Kurenai, of course, knew because Hinata had told her all about it. '_At least it's healthy and she's not a fangirl...' _She frowned inwardly at the mention of fangirls. She hated them. A lot. In her opinion, fangirls were the pinnacle of scum in the Shinobi world. They were the reason why Kunoichi had such a bad name. Kurenai knew about the girl's insecurity and how much the blonde meant to her. How the blonde saved her from those bullies and how he gave her his scarf. It made her swoon every time she recalled the story... how she looked at the blonde as a source of strength. '_And besides, they look sooo cute togetherr~' _Yep, Kurenai was as much a shipper as Yuugao.

"D-Don't say such e-embarrassing things like t-that, s-sensei..." Hinata said in a tiny whisper far too flustered right now.

'_Kami, the poor girl looks like she'll faint...' _Kurenai giggled in a half amused-half worried sentiment.

"Sorry, Hinata. Anyways, well, I've narrowed it down to two..."

One was a black ruched tie shoulder bodycon. Gifted to her by Anko for her birthday last year. Her choice reflecting upon the dress. It was extremely close fitting and she knew it was going to drop his jaw if she wore that. But she was nervous in regards to it. She did not want to show off too much on the first date. If you could call it that.

Second she opted to choose was traditional. It was a dark magenta _Yukata _with red poppies stitched intricately at the bottom which were reminiscent and bought out the colour of her eyes. The stitching was exquisite. It was the perfect balance of recherche and elegancy. She bought it from the land of Water once whilst on a mission. And was saving it for a special occasion._ 'Now's as good as any, I guess...' _She paused before pondering, _'Maybe I shouldn't have teased him too much... Is it really a date? I-I mean I kinda forced him into it...' _Kurenai bit her lip nervously. '_S-Suck it u-up! I'm going to do this! Yeah!' _She started pacing around the room. Hinata was getting worried. _'Fuck fuck fuck... How am I going to go through with this?'_

**~~X~~**

If Kurenai was going through a pickle like that, Ashina was no better. He was salvaging through his parents' closet to find something to wear. Otherwise, he would have to go shopping and he did not want to do that. He was not a fan of shopping. He usually went for Hinata's sake but now that he could help it, never.

Ashina sighed and recalled his first date with Hinata_, 'It was Ichiraku's on a snowy day... The snow had just gathered. A tiny speck of a snowflake had fallen on her nose. Kami, she never looked more beautiful. Even more than life itself. Her lips pouted as she let out an adorable sneeze... She tucked a strand of her beautiful indigo hair behind her ear. She noticed I was looking at her. She blushed and hid her face underneath her shoulder whilst having a complacent smile of her own...'_

'_**You're doing it again...'**_

"Huh?" Ashina shook himself quickly as he wiped a stray drop of tear from his eyes.

'_Sorry, Kurama...' _Ashina said with a smile but it was clearly coerced.

The fox sighed as it rested its head on its imposing paws, _**'I meant what I said, Kit. What we talked about... You need to let go.' **_

'_I'm trying, Kurama... but I feel like I'm doing something wrong... I might've messed around during the war but that was just lust clouding my sentiments. This is real. This can turn into something more... I-I feel like I'm dishonouring her somehow... I-I'm just not comfortable with this...'_

'_**Think of it as this way. How would the shy Hyūga feel like knowing you were hurting yourself? Do you think that she would want that for you?'**_

'_Of course not!'_

'_**Just think about that...'**_

The fox clearly having said what it wanted to, closed its eyes and went back to its nap. Ashina paid no mind and continued, _'And it would be unfair to Kurenai-chan... Maybe it isn't a date? She kinda just forced me into it... which is kinda my own fault... But she called it a date. So maybe it is...?'_

Ashina waited for the fox to respond, _'Kurama?_ _Furball? Oi!' _The fox started to subsume snoring. Whether he was pretending to do so was unperceived.

Ashina sighed, _'Lazy bastard... It's up to me then, I guess.'_

**~~X~~**

Kurenai was getting slightly anxious now. She did not know when exactly her supposed date was going to arrive_. _She had prepared over an hour ago. Even though it was just half-past six. They did not exactly decide what time they were going out.

Kurenai was fidgeting nervously a bit. Luckily Hinata arrived carrying a tray, "I-I made some tea, Kurenai-sensei..."

"O-Oh! Thank you, Hinata!" Kurenai said a bit too enthusiastically.

"A-Are you alright, Sensei?"

"W-What?" Kurenai said to no one in particular. She suddenly realised that Hinata had asked her that, "O-Oh, I'm fine! Yep. Nothing wrong here... '_I'm stressed as fuck! What do you think?!'_" Kurenai covered her incommodious thoughts by giving a nervous smile which creeped Hinata out.

'_Normally Sensei is so confident and dauntless... T-This is so unlike her.' _Hinata pondered. '_Is going on a date actually that stressful? I'm sure N-Naruto-kun will be much better than the man Sensei's going out with..._' She contemplated what she had just said, '_What...' _She covered her mouth with her hands in a paw-like bearing while wiggling her face adorably with a healthy blush.

Kurenai saw and smirked. She was used to this level of internal-squealing that Hinata fought against her innate Hyūga demeanour._ 'Anko called her bipolar. And got a nasty genjutsu kindly in return.'_

Kurenai was pondering with a smug expression when the door suddenly knocked.

"Hinata!"

"H-Hai, Sensei!"

"Sorry, but can you please answer the door?" Kurenai asked with an expression that screamed desperation.

Hinata seemed to understand what her Sensei wanted to do and nodded.

Kurenai mouthed 'thank you' and shunshined quickly to her room to wrap things up. Hinata made her way to the door and opened it, "C-Can I help you?"

Ashina was standing there with a flabbergasted expression. He was not ready for this.

"A-Ano?"

Ashina chuckled internally with a slightly doleful recalling, '_She's just as adorably embarrassing as I remember her.'_

Ashina suddenly cleared his throat and gave a small bow, "Konbanwa, Hinata-chan. I'm here to pick up Kurenai-san for our date." Said the strange man with azure eyes which kind of reminded her of Naruto-kun. Hinata was a little confounded that this man referred to her with such an affectionate honorific.

"D-Do I know you, Nii-san?" Hinata asked inquisitively.

Ashina smiled, "No... But you will in a couple of days from now."

Hinata was curious what the redhead meant by that but before she could ask more, "Ahem."

Ashina took one look at the fount and his jaw dropped, "Wow..." He did not mean to say that out loud.

Kurenai was clad in her yukata which gave away a graceful amount of her healthy cleavage. Hair tied in a bun, two red poppies adorning, with a hairpin. Light makeup with red lipstick gracing her puffy and pink lips which reflected her eyes gleamingly. Her cheeks were powdered moderately but she hoped to Kami that it hid her blush well enough which was at full throttle right now.

Ashina did not look bad himself and Kurenai was well aware of that. His long red hair was let down sliding at his shoulders which screamed sexy for Kurenai. He wore a black _Iromontsuki_, chest visible, opting to go without a hakama but still wore an haori. Dark red flames donned at the bottom of the Kimono. The Uzumaki family crest stood proudly on his back. Minato definitely had good taste in fashion.

Ashina actually had his hand behind his head and smiled nervously with a small blush. He really did not mean to say that out loud. He remembered, '_Yeah, before I forget...' _He then sealed out a bouquet of orchids which he bought from the Yamanaka flower shop on his way here. He did have to fend off a squealing Ino but it was well worth it after seeing Kurenai's complacent and coy smile.

Kurenai took a small whiff of the flowers and smiled, "Thank you, Ashina-kun. They're lovely... Let me just put them away and then we can leave?"

Ashina nodded with a smile. He then turned to Hinata who was feeling slightly left-out, and awkward seeing her Sensei so shy and reserved around someone. It was the exact polar opposite of her! It reminded her of herself!

"Goodbye, Hinata-chan. I'll bring back your Sensei before midnight. Is that acceptable?" Ashina said with a small smirk practically knowing which response he was going to prompt.

Hinata blushed being put in the spotlight in such a way, "H-Hai..." She could detect no sense of malice from the man and his chakra was comforting like her Naruto-kun's. _'I-I should stop doing that...' _She inferred flustered at the referral.

**~~X~~**

They made their way to the shops' district. It was a weekend so the stalls were busy. There was an assortment of different ones. But it still was not enough to cover the awkwardness the 'couple' was feeling right now. Kurenai had her hands folded in front of her lap avoiding any type of eye contact with a slight red tint on her powdered cheeks.

Ashina was not doing any better. He had to diffuse the situation somehow. _'M-Maybe Ramen?'_

'_**Idiot...'**_

Ashina palmed his forehead which startled Kurenai. Ashina realised what he had done, "I'm sorry, Kurenai-chan!" He sighed deeply before saying, "I-I'm not being a good date, am I?"

Kurenai's expression changed one of shock, "N-No! No! It's not your fault! It's mine. I forced you into it... I'm the one who should be apologising..." She did not know when she had grabbed his hand in the midst of it. When she finally noticed, she gasped and pulled away with a heavy blush.

Ashina also blushed and looked away. Apparently, Kurenai's discordant behaviour was affecting him. He was the centre of female attention during the war in his timeline. Especially in his later years before he became Hokage. So it was not unusual for him. But Kurenai was not just an ordinary person. She was eminent and renowned not just for her unparalleled beauty but also for her skill as a Kunoichi. And most importantly, as a Sensei. Granted, she still was not introduced to the role in this particular timeline yet, but she was a general badass in Ashina's opinion. He recalled his discussion with Kurama, '_The furball's right... I can't keep doing this to myself. I need to let go...' _

Ashina cleared his throat with his blush clearly visible which made Kurenai feel some sort of triumphal even though she was incredibly embarrassed how she had behaved around him. She cut him off by saying, "You don't have to say it, Ashina-kun..." She stopped abruptly when she felt a finger on her lips.

"It's okay, Kurenai-chan... I wanted to come. I never would've agreed if I didn't want to." Ashina said with a smile which made Kurenai feel that particular warmth again.

"Let's just relax, enjoy the night and try to have a conversation? See where it leads us? Is that okay?" He spoke with a soft tone.

Ashina then held out his arm for Kurenai to take which she gladly took with a smile, "Lead the way, Ashina-kun.**" **

**~~x~~**

They made way to the game stands. The stalls were bustling with Shinobi and civilians alike. There was a variety of games to choose from. All the classics were available. Dart throwing, ring tossing and all the like. Kurenai walked them over to a particular one, "How about this one? I'll go first..."

It was dart throwing. But there were blunt Kunai instead of darts. Kurenai always had a slight competitiveness to her. She turned to Ashina with a sly grin, "Best two out of three?"

Ashina gave her a smirk of his own, "You're on..."

And it was at this moment that he knew... he fucked up. Kurenai was deadly accurate. She hit nine out of ten targets dead in the centre unwavering. It was sexy as fuck. And surprisingly difficult. The vendor was a retired Shinobi so he was using chakra to move the targets irregularly using a chakra utilising device. Apparently, it was brought in from the Land of Snow.

'_That's...'_

'_**Damn...'**_

'_Will you stop watching us? It kinda feels weird.'_

'_**Why should I? It's the only entertainment I get down here...' **_Kurama stated with a snobbish tone.

'_You have a point there... but don't be there when we... ya know...'_

Kurama grinned, '_**What? You plan to consummate your relationship, Kit?'**_

'_W-What? N-No! H-How can you even say that?!' _Ashina stated with a heavy blush. Kurama kept his shit-eating grin so Ashina groaned, '_I meant when we talk or something, you perverted furball...'_

'_**Sure sure... But you better not lose this game even if it is just for amusement. Establish dominancy antecedently, and you shall be rewarded as she will reap your seed...'**_

'_Okay...' _He covered his ears._ 'I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that.' _Ashina tuned him out after that.

"Think you can do better?" Kurenai inferred teasingly.

Ashina grinned, "Oh, I know I can do better..."

He then proceeded to hit all ten of the targets dead in the centre which made Kurenai all the more amped and slightly pissed. '_So he's not gonna back off just cause I'm his date? I'll show his sexy tanned ass why they call me the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha...'_

It went back and forth between Ashina and Kurenai on whom got the upper hand. Kurenai using Genjutsu to conceal the targets. Ashina using his wind release to amplify his thrusts and obviously negating the Genjutsu ineffective. It was difficult already as it was with the targets moving. The odds were stacked as 9-10 with Ashina having the upper hand.

'_Last one...' _Ashina thought with a smirk. He propelled his wind chakra onto the kunai. Just as he was about to throw, he looked to see what Kurenai was doing and his smile immediately dropped, '_Oh no...'_

Kurenai had an adorable frown with a pout. Ashina knew from his experience with the opposite gender was that it was not a good sign and he was going to regret it if he did not resign himself. He sighed and then threw his kunai. The blunted blade missed by just a meter from the designated target.

The vendor himself was rooting for Ashina. He patted his back, _"_Tough luck, gaki..."

'_Yeah, tough luck...' _The redhead thought with a depressed sigh.

He suddenly felt something warm and wet against his cheek but the sensation left as soon as he felt it. Then a soft and dainty hand grasped his cheek, "I appreciate what you did, Ashina-kun... But please, _**never**_ do that again..." Kurenai said with an intimidating tone which put Kurama to shame.

Ashina shook himself off with a small sweat. Too scared to feel any type of embarrassment because of the innocent peck on the cheek, _'She's even scarier than Hinata was when she got pissed off...'_ Well, she was her Sensei after all. He may be the strongest shinobi Konoha had right now but he knew never to piss off a woman. A common occurrence, really.

**~~X~~**

"It's so cutee!" Kurenai gushed whilst holding a plushy teddy bear and hugging it.

Ashina chuckled at her behaviour. Women really were an enigma. They were taking a walk through Senju park. Kurenai had her arm wrapped around Ashina's.

They were enjoying the tranquil semblance until Ashina broke the silence, "So tell me about yourself, Kurenai-chan. What are your hopes, your plans for the future?"

"Hmm. Nobody's ever asked me that before... I guess I want to change the general perspective people have in regards to Kunoichi, you know? I don't wanna come off like a feminist but I think the perception people have of us needs to be changed. Fangirls definitely need to be annihilated." She said with a smirk which made Ashina laugh. She continued, "I know it's dangerous for us especially with the way Kunoichi are treated if captured... Kami, I can't even... begin to fathom it." She said the last part with a horripilation which made her rub her arms over.

"I understand. I understand the risks... But that's the world we live in, Kurenai... It's the harsh truth. It's fucked up, and we can't change it... But we certainly can adapt to it... Train harder, Kurenai. Train and become the best version of yourself. That way you can make a difference... and your words will mean something... They will matter." Ashina said with a smile which made Kurenai's heart flutter. These were all unfamiliar sentiments she was going through. She wondered why it felt so right to be in the redhead's company when she knew they had just met a few days ago.

Kurenai did not know what came over her but she suddenly lept and kissed the redhead on the lips. It was such an unfamiliar feeling. His lips were warm and soft. They made her feel tingly and dazed all of a sudden. She wanted more. She suddenly felt surprised when strong arms wrapped around her back and a chiselled chest pressed against her own firm cleavage. Kurenai became instantly overwhelmed. Her eyes snapped open when she felt his tongue slide against her lips asking for entry. She was in such a daze that she did not realise that she had granted entry to the foreign appendage. She couldn't believe how amazing it felt to kiss someone. The combined taste, the smell. It was intoxicating. She definitely tasted... ramen? Her core was apparently being affected too. Her panties felt slightly soaked. That was her wake up call. She definitely needed to stop now.

Kurenai pulled away and she saw that her arms were wrapped around the redhead's neck. She did not remember when that happened. She was panting and so was he. Lips swollen and eyes lidded, "T-That was, um, my first kiss..." She said in almost a whisper sheepishly.

Ashina smirked, "Oh... A natural, huh?"

Kurenai blushed and hid her face under his shoulder. They both stayed like that for a few moments, basking in the comfort of one another. Both wondering why it just felt just right, holding each other.

"So how do you want to... proceed? With us?" Ashina asked breaking the silence.

Kurenai lifted her head from his shoulder but still wouldn't look him in the eyes, "Um, I would rather we take things slow... I-I'm not ready for people knowing about us... '_It's mostly due to Anko and Yuugao...'_" She sighed internally at the end and hoped to Kami that he would understand.

"Okay..."

Kurenai finally looked up and made eye contact with him with a healthy blush, "Okay?"

Ashina chuckled and lifted her chin with his fingers, "Okay..."

Kurenai closed her eyes as she saw Ashina moving in. As soon as they were about to make contact, Kurenai's stomach groaned. She covered her face with her hands which made Ashina laugh.

Kurenai punched his arm which made Ashina wince but did not stop his laugh, "It's not funny!"

Ashina wiped some stray tears from his eyes, "It kinda was..." And soon as he said that, his stomach grumbled which made him frown and Kurenai giggle.

**~~X~~**

Kurenai opened the door to her apartment and slid her back closing the door. The clock read a minute from midnight. She rubbed her shoulders, '_I forgot to give him back his haori...' _Ashina had given it to her during their walk when she felt a bit cold. Thinking of the redhead made her smile and hug the thin jacket close. '_Mm, he definitely smelled good...' _ It smelled like it was a blend of sandalwood with a bit of musk. Today was perfect. Honestly, it had worked out a lot better than she had hoped. It was the complete opposite of what she thought it would be.

She left the haori at one of the chairs from the kitchen table. '_Hinata probably stayed the night. She would be asleep by now...' _She concluded by the washed dishes next to the sink. She made her way to the living room and turned on the lights hoping to eat some ice cream. She gasped in horror at the sight which greeted her.

Anko and Yuugao both had their arms crossed and were levying Kurenai with the dead stare. Well, mostly Yuugao because Anko was too busy grinning.

'_Fuck...'_

**~~x~~**

**Sorry about the fluffiness, lol. The next chapter will be somber comparatively. It'll be team placements and the start of the Wave Arc, expectantly. Look forward to the next update. Leave reviews. I'll try my best to reply to everyone. Thanks again for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Settling In (II)

**Hey. This chapter is a fun one. I wrote it piece by piece, back and forth. In the previous chapter, I definitely felt like there was a lot left lingering between the two months and team placements. So, there's that. And as I mentioned, I'm writing slow. Because I don't have the plot well thought out. Just a general outline of it. I'm making stuff as I write. Look at the notes at the end of the chapter for more perspective on the story. Beta read by AkumaReap3r so a huge thank you to him. With that said, ****hope you guys like this chapter.**

**~~X~~**

It was a humid day. The leaves were bristling with the current. They were giving an arid titillation in the evening. The courtyard of the Uzumaki compound was currently occupying sounds of fists battering and colliding with each other.

Naruto was dressed in a training outfit, a black combat t-shirt with the red Uzumaki whirlpool insignia on the back and black slacks with Ninja sandals. Ashina was dressed in a similar fashion. It had been more than a week or so since Ashina had started training Naruto in the arts of being a methodical but unorthodox Shinobi. Combined with his Uzumaki prowess and chakra reserves, if he were to accomplish his intended target of given objectives, he could very well beat the Uchiha in the plural, in terms of being a Ninja in general which was not an easy feat. And Naruto would not be Naruto if he didn't train.

The Uzumaki were generally not known for their Taijutsu as the Hyuuga were. On the other hand, their prowess in Kenjutsu combined with Suiton was widely renowned. They were more traditional than most major clans, more in line with the Senju in terms of their thinking, conduct and lifestyle. Even their apparel was battle armour. Given their relationship to the founder clan, it was a given maybe.

Naruto wiped the sweat from his brow for the umpteenth time. His breathing was becoming more and more ragged. They had been going at it for more than a few hours. And he was really getting annoyed now. His Nii-chan was wearing him out. He told him to go on the offensive and he would only defend without any retaliation for the past few times. But he did not look affected in the slightest. His only indication was a cocky smirk which only seemed to annoy the blonde further.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

Ever since they started on their training, Ashina had him do the norm for chakra exercises. Gave him books to study on Shinobi tactics, of course not by himself but by supervising him, making sure he didn't slack off. Gave him paper to practice his Kanji writing for Fūinjutsu which was in all honesty _shit_ but the redhead knew that it wasn't his fault due to his circumstances growing up. He also knew practice made perfect. Seals came easy but that did not mean that his writing was the same. He needed practice before he could start building seals by himself because the wrong Kanji could be detrimental. Tree climbing and water walking were helping him with his chakra control. Also, Ashina drew a seal on his back which acted as a supplementary chakra system in addition to his own, mitigating the large reserves inside his body. It helped him control and filter the chakra, but due to his reserves being abnormally large, he still needed to do the exercises. But chakra control was doable for him now. As a result, he could learn basic jutsu like the Shunshin and the Clone Technique if he wanted to now.

Naruto complained about the exercises being too boring and how were they supposed to help him become a kickass Ninja. They argued, of course. Both being of the same thick skin, but the older being a bit more wise due to his age and experience, struck a deal with him by showing him the _Rasengan. _Naruto was instantly mesmerized by the spiralling ball of chakra and his mouth watered at the prospect of learning such an amazing jutsu, even if it was incomplete which the redhead had pointed out.

Ashina knew he had him by the balls now, no pun intended. And when he told the blonde that the Yondaime was the one who had created it, he was literally spitting fireworks.

Naruto growled and ran with his fist cocked back hoping to punch the redhead. It reminded Ashina of his first time with Kakashi in Team 7 when he got that nasty jutsu. Oh, how obnoxious he was. He wasn't going to let that happen to his Chibi now, was he? Naruto felt his fist collide with the redhead's stomach, he wanted to smash his face in but his height wouldn't let him do so he aimed for the stomach. As soon as he 'felt' the jab go in, the redhead simply moved an inch aside gracefully and the blonde simply hit thin air but Ashina kicked his foot making him fall face first in the dirt.

"Ow ow ow…"

Naruto groaned as he rubbed his face with a small frown. Ashina sighed and gave him a hand to help him up, "See what I meant, Naruto-kun? And we were doing so well."

Naruto kept his frown so Ashina continued, "You have to be patient… Stick to the Kata I taught you. Remain calm even if it feels like you're about to lose. It'll pay off. Trust me."

Ashina taught him the first three Kata of _Kakuran Taijutsu _combining with the _Gōken. _Kakuran Taijutsu basically involves being able to rapidly and relentlessly bombard the target, with precision, at various angles and locations. Being nimble and fast. The style is comprised mostly of sheer unpredictable movements, acrobatics which can easily catch opponents off-guard but combining that with theGōken, it'll pack a punch and break bones.

'_One of Kumo's signature taijutsu. It's perfect for someone like Naruto-kun because he's still developing so his body can adapt to it. And combining that with Bushy Brow's Gōken, it's unrecognizable and unbeatable. Saves me the bother of having to explain it though...'_

The redhead was not worried about using a Taijutsu style which was notable as primarily being one of the other villages like Kumo. Almost every village had Taijutsu specialists which were known to be omniscient in every modus operandi of Taijutsu so it wasn't a problem that he could garner unwanted attention because of that. A prime example being Konoha's very own Handsome Green Beast.

'_**Kit…'**_

'_What?'_

'_**We still have to deal with my counterpart. Do we have a plan to?'**_

'_At least until he's on his feet and he can take care of himself. Maybe we can work on it then, y' know? It's too bothersome right now and he's still recovering.'_

Kurama grinned at its host from its imposing paws, _**'Going soft on me, Kit? Don't think I haven't noticed it ever since we came here… You do remember, don't you? I still reminisce about it from time to time. You were bloodthirsty and ruthless… You weren't unnerved in the slightest when taking a life. I did appreciate it but even I was surprised what you did to that wooden fuck… Plucking his precious Sharingan in front of him and crushing it under your boot…'**_

'_You know what he did… He got what he deserved…' _Ashina said in a low tone with his fingernails digging into his biceps drawing blood, his arms crossed.

'_**I know he did...'**_

'_As for me going soft… You're an asshole, you know that?'_

The fox just grinned and closed its eyes for another one of its naps.

Naruto gave a compunctious sigh and stilled himself in the stance that Ashina taught him. It wasn't perfect but he was getting there. Due to the style involving acrobatics, it was difficult to get a grasp of it and he fell on his ass quite a few times but Ashina was patient with him and didn't even laugh at him which Naruto appreciated. Due to filtering his chakra with the seal and due to the chakra exercises, he could feel his body adapting to being fast and nimble. Fast movements and somersaults in the air were a difficult thing to achieve for an average-joe, but Ninja were capable of accomplishing that feat easily with chakra. He understood what his Nii-chan meant by the exercises being important to him. Some of them, at least.

As far as adaptation went, the redhead even forbade him from eating ramen more than once a day… It was blasphemy! But he told him that it was important for him to gain proper nutrients for his body to grow. '_You don't want to keep being a Chibi now, do you?' _Is what his Nii-chan said. It popped a nerve on his forehead. Of course he doesn't wanna keep being a midget. So he relented and hoped to Kami that the ramen deity would forgive him for his sins. But it helped that the redhead told the blonde that he would refrain from eating Ramen as well as much as it hurt him to do so. Talk about loyalty…

Naruto moved forward with a handspring, barely keeping his balance and moved to hit the redhead with a turn kick. Ashina deliberately blocked it but applauded his Chibi's efforts with a nod. The blonde then moved with a basic cartwheel and thrust his fist reminiscent of theGōken. Ashina again blocked deliberately, but this time he felt the knack of the punch on his wrist. _'Fuck… Should've dodged it this time…' _He could already feel Kurama's chakra seeping in to heal the damage to his arm. Naruto moved backwards and again took his stance. Ashina spun his arm and Naruto could hear the joint pop which made him clench his teeth a little.

Ashina grinned at his Chibi, "Not bad, Naruto-kun… That one actually hurt y'know?"

Naruto beamed at being praised even if it was of minor significance.

"Keep at it and I think that you can beat the Uchiha in your class…"

"Really?! I can beat that stuck up bastard?!" Asked Naruto with his fists pumped for emphasis but frowned when the redhead held up his hand.

"I didn't say you could beat him at your current level. '_Even though he very well could but that would cost some nasty repercussions…' _You need to train more if you want to beat Sasuke. I'm not gonna let you slack off if that's what you think… What? You thought just because you managed to get a hit on me, I'm going to _**let you**_?" The redhead stated with a cold tone at the end.

Naruto was instantly on his feet in a posture reminiscent of the soldiers he commanded in the war with a trail of sweat running down his forehead. It was sort of hilarious but the redhead knew that he needed to intimidate the blonde to a certain amount of degree if he was going to make him do things he didn't want to. Not like screaming Pink Banshees but he could make do if he did say so himself. And speaking of girls…

"Naruto-kun… You know…team placements are in a month. Excited about having someone on your team?"

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto said with literal hearts in his eyes.

The redhead sweatdropped and sighed, '_Why did I even hope?'_

He had been doing a lot of sighing lately. It was one of Kakashi's most annoying habits and he was picking up on them. And he did not want to seem like a hypocrite but he really wanted to kick himself in the balls right now.

"Let me ask you a question, Naruto-kun? Why do you like Sakura-san so much? What's so special about her that makes her different from the rest of the girls?"

Naruto scratched his head as he sat down cross-legged next to the redhead, "Well… She's pretty, y'know!"

"Well, what about her thoughts, her feelings towards you?"

"What do ya mean, Nii-chan?" Asked Naruto with his head tilted to the side with a confused expression.

Ashina sat down next to the blonde with his hands in front of his knees, "What I mean is…does she feel the same way about you?"

Naruto frowned and stared at the ground with a sad expression, "No… She's always after that stuck up bastard… Who doesn't even give two shits about her…"

Ashina knew what the reason was but he still needed to ask, "Then why even bother with her?"

Naruto turned his face away so Ashina couldn't see it, "Because she's the only one who gave me attention… Everyone else mostly just ignored me…" He said with a small frown.

"Naruto-kun… Look at me…"

The blonde looked to see the redhead smiling at him, "It's not going to be like that anymore…"

The blonde reciprocated his smile with a bright one of his own. The redhead patted the blonde's back, "Just promise me to keep an open mind… Girls are a tricky subject. And I don't want you to bind yourself to someone… There are other girls too, you know?"

Naruto had a contemplating expression on his face. Ashina winked at him, "Who knows? Maybe someone else likes you too? And you were too busy chasing after Sakura-san to notice it?"

Naruto frowned at that prospect. He couldn't argue with that logic considering the younger generation didn't know about his circumstances so it couldn't be that aside from a few. He was always loud in class because he felt like he had to prove something to someone. Anyone. He wanted to be recognised as a person. To exist. Thinking about himself now and spending time with his Nii-chan the past couple of days had allowed the blonde to reflect upon certain aspects of his life. He wasn't alone anymore. He had his Nii-chan. He never paid any attention to himself and how his behaviour affected those around him. Maybe the problem was his self? He never was one to care about what other people thought of him. There was only one person he could ask for advice from.

"What do you think I should do, Nii-chan?"

"Hm? About girls? Hey, I'm no player but…"

He wasn't able to finish as the blonde cut him off by saying, "No…no! I mean as in how do you think I should go on with my life, y'know? Like, how can I make myself better?"

Now Ashina had expected a lot of things from his Chibi but self-reflection, never. Goes to say how stunted his actual intellect was when he was younger. He smiled inwardly, '_Maybe my influence is doing more good for his growth than I thought it would…'_

"I mean… Should I change the way I think? Should I change the way I talk? I know I say _Dattebayo _a lot. B-But you say that too!" He pointed an accusatory finger at the redhead.

Said redhead held up his hands feigning innocence with a nervous smile, "Hey, I don't say it… much. I used to a lot but I kinda controlled it over the years… I used to do it a lot too when I was your age. Maybe it's an Uzumaki thing, _y'know_?"

"Ya did it again!" Naruto grinned with his eyes closed rocking back and forth slightly.

"Huh. Maybe I did…" Ashina said with a cheeky grin of his own.

"As for you changing yourself…" He put a hand on his head and ruffled his hair, "There's nothing wrong with you. Just be yourself. Although I did tell you that I would work on your mannerisms and all that stuff. You do want to be able to attend meetings when you become Hokage, right?"

"Uhuh…" The blonde nodded his head.

The redhead did hope that his Chibi would grow out of his crush. Self-reflection and introspection could help him with that. And besides, he knew what the reason for the crush was. It was just a foolish rivalry that Ashina grew out of a long time ago. And he didn't want to rehash his buried repression about the Uchiha any further so he shook himself off of those feelings. He trusted the blonde would be able to by himself. And besides… he had his mind made up in regards to his old teammate.

"And not to be a buzz kill but that much orange does tend to stick out…"

"What… No no… No no no no… Please, Nii-chan! Not my jumpsuit. Please!"

"I'm not telling you to throw it away, Naruto-kun. But Ninja need to be furtive… Not stick out like a sore thumb."

The blonde groaned.

Ashina sighed, "Just do me a favour? The next you wear your jumpsuit, let the sleeves fall and keep it open from the front zipper. At least it looks cooler that way."

The blonde gave a small hum and relented with a quick nod.

"Good." '_For now at least… Until I can get someone on him. To change his mind, of course.'_

'_**Cheeky cheeky…'**_

The statement from his intimidating and furry friend made him grin.

He turned his attention to the blonde and gave a small smile. Then stood in front of the field next to the whirlpool insignia that was drawn on it.

"Now that that's dealt with. Come on… Back in your stance." He ushered to his annoyed counterpart.

The blonde groaned, "Hai…"

"How about once we're done here… We can go for some Ramen over at Ichiraku's? I haven't gone there in a long time."

The blonde gave a shout of excitement at the prospect of getting some Ramen from his favourite place. He was tired of resorting to cup ramen, especially because there were no limited edition ones. What can he say? Simple things brought him joy.

**~~X~~**

Kurenai had her arms crossed while sitting at the table with a frown which in no way contrasted her perdurable beauty. She was in her usual attire which consisted of a red mesh blouse with the right sleeve visible. Light makeup consisting of red lipstick on her plump lips which matched and complimented her eyes, with purple eye shadow. Bandages with a pattern on it similar to thorns wrapped around, hiding her voluptuous figure. Her hands and lubricious upper thighs also wrapped in bandages. The Konoha protector donning her temple and her silky ebony hair untamed reaching her upper back.

She had been training vigorously after her release from the hospital so she hadn't seen her _boyfriend_ since their date. Thinking of the redhead and their date made her smile and sigh dreamily. Which did not go unnoticed by her sister figures Anko and Yuugao. The ebony-haired beauty never dated anyone before because she felt that relationships were non-productive, quite frankly. And with her taking on an official squad this time, her schedule was even more drastic.

But something changed her mind. She had been sceptical about it but was willing to take a chance. Her first thought went out to her academy classmate Asuma. She had a small thing for the bearded Shinobi when they were younger and it was reciprocated. But then he left to become one of the Twelve Guardians. She had planned to ask him out when he returned which was soon but circumstances changed obviously.

Her friends and fellow Shinobi had told her their dating experiences, specifically first dates, which she kept in mind loosely because those she was concerned with. And most of the opinions were that it was nothing special. That there was no connection. At least not at first. But Kurenai felt the polar opposite. The redhead had been an absolute gentleman to her. Treated her with the utmost adoration. He did steal glances at her during the whole date which made her squeal inwardly at the time but they weren't anything perverted, mind you. Even if she was a Shinobi… that profoundly did not mean that wasn't prone to masculine charms, even if they were unintentional. She was a woman after all. Their date had been amazing. They talked about the future, under the stars. They discussed what it meant to be together. About their relationship. She didn't feel like she had to pretend in front of the redhead. His simple actions made her laugh. His cheeky grin with his eyes closed made her heart flutter.

She really didn't want this to be kept secret from her sister figures. She relatively had good karma so she didn't know why she was hesitating on telling the both of them. She had dragged it out long enough or stalled rather after both of them caught her in such a compromising way. All dolled up, had a foolish grin on her face, about to eat ice-cream… and not because of some sad flick she watched. Definitely the telltales of a date.

Of course, Anko and Yuugao reacted in the most natural way they could, they overreacted.

Kurenai hadn't dated before and she had her reasons for that. Well, neither did Anko. Out of all three of them, Yuugao was the only one who had ever dated and that too only one person. Anko being Anko flirted and flaunted because loved getting attention. There was a reason for that as well but only the Hokage and Yuugao knew about that. Well, she was an interrogations expert in the Konoha T&I… so it could be said that reading people was one of her many talents. But she never had an intimate relationship with someone.

It could also be said that it was mostly elements of insecurities due to her harsh past but she never felt the need to open up to someone. Not in that way, at least. Only Yuugao knew the most about her issues and the _problems_ that she kept from everyone else because she was the closest to her, due to many reasons. So neither one of them was experienced. It was a ratification of their consensus with their careers. At least that's the justification they gave themselves.

Anko was the one who broke the silence when she waved her hand in front of the ruby-eyed woman's slightly dazed face, "Um, hello? Nai-chan?"

Kurenai slightly shook herself off of her reminiscence and cleared her throat and answered, "Yes?" But was slightly unnerved when she saw the Anbu sitting next to the brazen violet haired woman. She had been levying Kurenai with a promiscuous stare ever since they arrived. Anko finally noticed and kneed the older woman under the table.

"Ow! What the hell?!"

Kurenai sighed. She knew she had to explain herself. Well, somehow.

"It's true. I'm seeing someone."

Anko slammed her hands on the table and pointed at the ebony-haired beauty, "Aha! I knew it! Nai-chan is getting _laid_…" She said in a sing-song voice.

Kurenai blushed and shook her head indicating denial. Yuugao gasped and smacked her on the head with the back of her hand, "Anko!" She chided.

Anko rubbed her head with a frown sulking… The alluring Anbu then looked towards Kurenai who just gave a nervous smile but clenched her teeth when she articulated, "And you! Don't even think you're getting off that easily… You'd better have a good reason for not telling me…" She looked towards Anko with a disappointing glance, "Or Anko for that matter..."

"Hey!"

"I know and I'm sorry… I-I just didn't know how. And it all just happened so fast… We met at the hospital… I asked him out… We went out in the next couple of days…" She continued rambling.

Yuugao went from her side of the table and sat next to the ruby-eyed woman, "I believe you… But why didn't you tell us that night? We were waiting for hours… Hinata-chan was getting tired so I told her to spend the night. Imagine my surprise when she told me that her Sensei was out on a fucking date!"

Kurenai blushed and looked down at her lap embarrassed at believing in such trivial things. It was part of the reason, she told herself.

"I-I didn't want to jinx it…" She said in a small tone.

"For fuck's sake…"

"Language, Anko!" Yuugao chided her once again.

"What?! You just said the same word just a while ago!"

"I'm older than you!"

"Old enough to kill… Old enough to fuck!"

"S-Stop saying that!"

They kept squabbling with each other as always. Kurenai was happy because it took the spotlight away from her but of course, it didn't last for long. They stayed silent for a moment when Yuugao broke it by saying with a smirk, "So you're dating someone…"

Kurenai cleared her throat again and said as stoically as possible, "Y-Yes."

Anko also sat next to the ruby-eyed woman on the opposite side from the Anbu, "What's he like? Is he hot? Hunky?" She grinned, "Is he big?"

Yuugao groaned, "Anko, stop being a pervert! Kami!" She huffed but winked, "But do_ tell…_"

Kurenai felt scandalized by the accusation. She gasped, "W-What? I-I'm not… W-We didn't… I-I'm not a bimbo! I didn't sleep with him on the first date!"

Anko laughed while Yuugao giggled.

Kurenai sighed, "We went out… We talked… We ate… That's it."

Anko gave a disappointing look, "Aw, not even a kiss goodnight? I'm disappointed, Nai-chan…"

Kurenai blushed, "We, um, did kiss…"

Anko let out a shout of excitement which seemed to attract a lot of stares from the new customers at the Dango shop. The regulars knew it was of the norm.

"Who are you and what have you done to my Nai-chan?"

The ruby-eyed beauty rolled her eyes at that.

"Was there any tongue involved?"

"Anko!"

"Okay okay… Geez… Can you at least tell us who he is?"

The ebony-haired woman gave a patronizing snicker at that, "Like I'm going to give you his name… so you both could stalk him! In your case, one of your interrogative sessions and a freaking swordfight with Yuugao in hers..."

Anko frowned, "Give me some credit, will ya… I bust mental balls for a living…"

Yuugao smiled and embraced her with one arm, "Well, I for one am happy for you…" She gave the crimson eyed woman a sincere smile before she said with a solemn expression, "But I want you to be careful. I don't want you to get hurt…"

Kurenai smiled warmly upon hearing that, "Thank you, Yuugao…" She paused a little bit before she asked hesitantly, "How are things with Hayate?"

This made the elegant Anbu's cutesy smile replace with an uneasy frown. Anko was the one who answered with a mouthful of dango, "She's not telling me but it looks like it's a permanent off this time…"

Yuugao still had her frown which was verily discordant, making her lips slightly pouty because of the dark violet shade of her lipstick she always used, "I don't see it working… I just don't see him that way. I only went out with him for the sake of his feelings. He is… and will be… my best friend. I just hate it… that he involved romance in our relationship. I just don't know what to do. I tried."

"Have you tried talking it out with him?" Kurenai asked with a concerned expression.

Yuugao looked down at her lap, "No... I'm scared that he'll take it the wrong way and end up hating me…" She paused a little before she said, "I know he's not happy and he's regretting what he did. I know he knows that I'm not happy with this. With how it turned out. You know the whole story…" She paused a little before she said with a dejected tone, "I know feelings can't be changed. Not unless you try…"

Kurenai still had a perturbed look on her face. She was, of course, worried for her friend. Her surrogate sister was generally a reserved person. Focusing more on work and not letting her sentiments get the better of her. But Hayate meant more to her than she admitted even if it was in the most platonic way possible. She grew up with him. And they were best friends ever since they knew each other.

Kurenai knew Hayate as well, as he was her colleague as a ninja, and was also one of her classmates. He had a calm and gentle personality. But at the same time, he was also stubborn as she was told by her Anbu sister when she seldom needed to vent. And stubbornness could sometimes very well get in the way of feelings, she knew. So she couldn't help but worry for her friend and surrogate sister.

He was also rather well known as a tokubetsu jōnin for his skill in Kenjutsu. Hayate was the one who developed the _Dance of the Crescent Moon _along with Yuugao_._ The A-rank Kenjutsu technique that both of them used. '_Didn't Ashina-kun mention he was also skilled in Kenjutsu? At least that's what he said when I asked him about some of the scars he had… Maybe the two could spar sometime… Yuugao even. She does love it when she can test her skills against someone.' _And speaking of introducing him to her, she remembered something the redhead had asked her to do.

'_The introduction due to Uzumaki-kun… He asked me to introduce her to him. How am I going to go through with this?'_

She had to approach her sisters somehow in regards to this. And someday she will. Just not now and not today. Perhaps she could discuss this with the redhead himself? He did respect the non-exclusive part of their budding relationship that was insisted on her part.

Speaking of the redhead and his scars, the crimson-eyed beauty noticed that he was rather withdrawn when she asked him about them. He changed the subject before she could ask him more. Specifically, the rather daunting one on his left shoulder. She summarized that it was one from a Raiton release due to the contracture and scarred nature of the affected area. She was no medic but even she knew that it had to be a drastic and detrimental jutsu to do such lingering damage. It just made the ebony-haired woman all the more curious about the redhead.

She was currently at a stalemate in regards to her relationship with him. She wanted to take things slow. Wanted to get to know him first. The simple things about him. What makes him laugh? What makes him tick? It was a cliché and sort of stigma that she knew about relationships in general which she read in books, saw and heard. She didn't know why but she wanted to believe in stereotypes when it concerned her stepping into unfamiliar territory such a non-platonic relationship with someone for the first time. Maybe it was just her optimism getting the better of her?

She knew for a fact that she was extremely attracted to the red-haired Shinobi. Which woman wouldn't be? He was kind, thoughtful and sweet. It was a bonus that he was extremely good looking too. And he was not a pervert. Another bonus. She considered herself lucky that she was able to bag him first, so to say. Many women were jealous throughout their date, levying her with glares full of innocent malice. This, in turn, pissed her off a little but also filled her with satisfaction and amusement she couldn't quite relate to.

She wanted to believe that the attraction she felt for the redhead could be converted into feelings over slow progression, over time. She wanted that and if she was honest with herself, she needed that. After the death of her father, she became withdrawn, generally from affection. She developed a sort of a fear of isolation and loneliness about loved ones that it changed her innate behaviour and made her apprehensive towards relationships in general. Not that she considered this in her adulthood. She had grown out of it through the help of her friends, colleagues and her surrogate sisters the most. But a slight trace of it had always been there in the back of her mind.

She shook herself off of those thoughts and turned her attention to the violet haired women on either side of her. One who had her mouth full of dango and gave occasional mewls of satisfaction when she took bites of the sweetened and glazed treat. '_Lock Anko and a bucket full of dango in a room.'_ She mused with a snicker. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the alluring Anbu had a contemplative expression on her graceful features. She called out to her,

"Yuugao?"

"Hm?"

"Would you like to order something?"

"Oh… Yeah sure." She said slightly downcast.

Kurenai frowned inwardly, '_I shouldn't have brought him up...' _She signalled the waiter to bring a bottle of _shōchū, _a stronger variant of sake and one of her favourite drinks, along with three cups. The Anbu gave her a small smile slightly downcast but with a discerning nod showing that she understood what she wanted to do.

**~~X~~**

It was almost nightfall when the women were done with their meet up for drinks. Anko had an appointment in T&I and Yuugao had her Anbu duties which left the ruby-eyed beauty. Kurenai had her cheeks flushed with a reddish hue. She knew how to hold her liquor but she was no legendary Sannin. And when you're drinking with a brazen woman like Anko, two or three bottles went nowhere. And besides, she had the evening off. Actually, she had a whole of two months… which was somewhat odd considering the notice just went out the day they were supposed to officially handle team assignments. Even though she had been injured and was under recovery, she could handle a genin squad. But she wasn't one to take things for granted.

Her reflexes felt slightly delayed which made her curse. She really shouldn't have drunk so much. Her apartment was just at the end of the street she was on. She was about to turn the corner when her senses kicked in and she threw a kunai on the slightly darkened part of the abandoned street. Her sensor abilities were slightly muddled as she wasn't able to congregate chakra properly due to the large quantity of alcohol she had taken so she couldn't tell if it was a fellow Konoha shinobi. Judging by the figure, broad shoulders, azure eyes and shoulder-length hair... Crimson-colored, is it? Wait, crimson hair and azure eyes?

"Ashina-kun?!"

The Shinobi in question just gave a sheepish smile with his signature squint when he emerged in front of her.

"Don't scare me like that!"

The redhead kept his apologetic visage, "Sorry, Kurenai-chan. Also, I apologise but I'm a shadow clone. I'm just bringing a message for you from the boss. He wants to meet you tomorrow at the Uzumaki compound. Bring Hinata-san with you, he asked." The clone concluded with a rather humble tone which wasn't unlike the redhead but wasn't exactly like him either. He was probably doing that on purpose, she mused.

Kurenai was slightly disappointed that the redhead wasn't present himself but she knew he had his responsibilities, like taking care of one of the major clans of Konoha as its sole representative. Especially an emerging one. '_He also said that he had to train Uzumaki-kun…' _So she understood but was slightly confused about why he asked for Hinata.

"I see… Did he mention why he asked for Hinata?"

"Um, he didn't say. But he did mention that it was something about training?"

"Okay… Is there anything else?"

The clone gave had a musing expression with a hum. He then gave an impish smile to the ruby-eyed beauty, "Actually there is one thing…" He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her already flushed cheeks.

Kurenai, of course, knew the how's and why's of the _Kage Bunshin_ jutsu and its advantages. Especially in intercourse if that could be made into a thing. Anko wasn't one to leave any details out, now was she? Normal Shinobi didn't have the chakra for it but relevantly, the Uzumaki were generally known for their vitality and chakra. She shook herself off of those feelings unless she wanted to give herself a nosebleed in front of her boyfriend's clone. '_Don't forget about the clone having sent its memories back to the user…'_ Wait, why was she having wanton thoughts anyway? She really did have too much to drink.

Kurenai blushed and looked downwards with a complacent smile, "Thank you, clone-kun."

The clone gave a small wave and dispelled itself.

Kurenai went on towards her apartment building with an inward smile, '_Better get started on dinner…'_

**~~X~~**

The Konoha cemetery generally had a peaceful semblance. People came and went. Lives lost and buried. Loved ones, comrades, best friends, lovers. Even enemies. It was a state of sympathy for people when they buried the respective ones who were close to them.

They felt at ease. At _peace._

It was, of course, the natural course of life. You live life and you go. You forget. But something in that mind of his couldn't or rather, wouldn't let him. He felt guilt. Insurmountable guilt. It was his fault after all. Everything was his fault. She died because of him. She died by _his hand._ And all she ever wanted was his love. The mission comes before everything else. _Fuck_ missions. Kami, he was a fool. A pitiful fool now. And when she thought she couldn't have his love, she had no purpose anymore except the protection of the Village. So she died by his hand. _He killed her. _How could she do this to him? No, it was his fault. She was everything a person could want, wasn't she? And he was too stupid to notice her before. Too hung up on lingering grudges and sentiments of resentment he had against someone who was already dead.

And afterwards, he couldn't because of _him._

His friend. His teammate. His brother. The one who gave his life for him. The one who loved _her_. The one who taught him what bonds meant. What it meant to be lenient. That it was okay to forgive. To not blame himself for things he could not control. But how could he? He died protecting him. He who didn't deserve it. Gave him his clan's most prestigious existence. A part of him. He felt guilt using it. The thousand jutsu that he learned. The very bane that had earned him the moniker _Copy Ninja, _amongst many others. But it was the only thing that he had of him. An endowment of his final act. His depression came soon after that.

'_Friend-killer Kakashi, was it?'_

He lost count of how many monikers he had by now. His Sensei had tried to help him by assigning him to the Anbu. Gave him the meticulous task of protecting his wife. Uzumaki Kushina and their unborn son. Sensei's _son_. Thinking of the blonde-haired gaki and how much he resembled his late Sensei had made him all the more aggregated with guilt. He didn't deserve to be the scapegoat for the village to direct all their hatred on. He was Sensei's son. The son of the Yondaime Hokage. And he was ostracized for something that wasn't even his fault. And he didn't even take care of him. Didn't even look at him. Not even once.

He was scum. He went against his very own ideals that his friend taught him. He deserved to die. He had tried to kill himself. To put an end to all of this suffering. He couldn't perform the act himself. Then there would be no difference between him and his old man. He tried other ways. By going on S-ranked missions, throwing himself in the line of fire. Drinking himself into misery. But in the end, he always survived. It was like the world hated him. Karma's a bitch, isn't it?

He would always visit them. And engulf himself in misery. But over the course and passage of time, he learned to bear it with some meagre amount of grit he had left. The burden that would always remain with him. He would abstain from life and the pleasures that came along with it. It was his way of atonement and redemption. He was convinced of this. His friends, his classmates and even the Hokage himself, all tried to reason otherwise but he was rigid and adamant on his beliefs. Just him and his porn novels. Not a bad way to live, was it?

He sensed a familiar presence but didn't react.

"Kakashi-san, the Hokage has requested your presence."

The masked shinobi turned around and gave his signature smile with his eyes closed, "How have you been, Kenshi?"

The Anbu in question sighed at his senior's actions, "I've told you not to call me that while I'm on duty, senpai."

"Sorry sorry…" He uttered waving his hand dismissively with his usual bored but slightly jovial tone. He continued, "Tell Hokage-sama I'll be there shortly."

The Anbu just shook his head and shunshined out of the graveyard leaving behind a trail of leaves in his presence, leaving the masked Shinobi alone to carry out his impending commitment.

**~~X~~**

The Hokage monument was not a structure of drastic architecture. It was convenient in terms of locomotion even if you did have to walk a bunch of stairs but that wasn't anything difficult in a Shinobi-centric world. The Hokage's briefing room was adequate. Outside the average-sized room was the desk of the Hokage's secretary. The room itself consisted of a couch, a couple of chairs and a desk. A bookcase filled with scrolls of variety. On the wall were portraits of all the previous Shinobi who held the prestigious title, in order. Men who defined fortitude and gallantry in fine terms. Each of them having sacrificed ample, to ensure and to keep the _Will of Fire _from burning out.

The current occupant of the meticulous position was stretching his old and fossil legs. If there was one thing he hated in his job, even more than diplomacy, it was the accursed paperwork. Or rather, the infamous _Hokage's curse. _He didn't know how his predecessors and his successor had dealt with this bullshit. Mountains and mountains of it. And it keeps growing.

'_Wait; wasn't that one just about finished?'_

He was so distraught with the brutality of it that it made him paranoid. He kept trying to pinch himself and congregate his chakra as he was convinced that someone was pulling a prank on him with a Genjutsu, making the camouflaged Anbu hidden from plain sight snicker.

He uttered a long and depressing sigh littered with a dash of curse. He needed a break. He grinned rather salaciously behind closed doors. He flicked his finger making the Anbu leave their posts for a total of twenty minutes. More than enough time. He pulled the drawer of his dusty and trusty desk and lifted the counterfeit sheet of wood he had made specifically for its purpose. A seal was drawn on it which made it so only the Hokage himself could remove it. Otherwise, it would keep the contents under remained sealed and give the appearance of nada. A rather cunning Genjutsu seal orchestrated by the Hokage himself with the help of his trusty and morally corrupted student. Under the sheet were the contents almost every man and woman in the whole of the Shinobi continents would kill for, both for different reasons.

As soon as the old Hokage lifted the sheet, he was mesmerized with a golden light. Or was it just him and his paranoia? Lo and behold, he was greeted with… '_Icha Icha Tactics: Mission Impossible'. _The third instalment in the illustrious and influential novel. He had received an early copy of it from the author that was his student. One of the main accomplishments he was most proud of the man. He rubbed the front of the hardback edition of the book with affection. He couldn't find the time before to read it and had to grit and bear through the temptation of reading it during his work hours. Of course, it was better than domestic problems such as a toilet clog or a damn cat gone astray. D-ranks really were getting the slime of humanity as far as missions were concerned. Another problem to fix and discuss with the council.

He was just to turn the first page after the introduction when he sighed, "Always turning up on the worst moment, aren't we, Kakashi-kun?"

The masked Shinobi was leaning on the window in a scooched position reading the very same novel the esteemed Hokage had in his hands.

"Sorry sorry…" The familiar quirk all the very present. Without taking his eyes off of the significant novel, he continued, "I see you've gotten your hands on the masterpiece too… Definitely the best one so far in my opinion."

The Hokage was flabbergasted upon hearing it, "What… You received an early copy too!?" Upon the nod of his masked Shinobi, he continued with a scorn, "Jiraiya-kun was very adamant about keeping it secret."

"Mah, what can I say? Jiraiya-sama values my opinion. I have been reading his work ever since it was first published and am proud to be one of his most _ardent_ fans…"

"Don't have to flex on me, Kakashi-kun. I am the Hokage after all." The old Hokage said with a smile that promised torment.

The one-eyed Shinobi just gave him one of his eye smiles. He did make him pull out the Hokage card after all.

"Anyway, enough fooling around… I called you here because I wanted to tell you something."

The silvered haired Shinobi remained quiet allowing the Hokage to continue, "I had to transfer Naruto-kun to another team due to certain vindications."

"Hokage-sama…" He started but couldn't finish when the seasoned Hokage held up his hand.

"Let me finish, Kakashi-kun… I know you wanted to have him on your team because you thought you felt the need to fulfil an obligation to your late Sensei… Having said that, I know you also feel the need to fulfil an obligation to your late teammate by having the last Uchiha on your team."

"It has been considered after long and careful deliberation. Both of them deserve unequalled observation and attentiveness… both in their own regards."

The silver-haired shinobi had an indiscernible expression on his face so the Sarutobi continued, "Sasuke-kun has issues of trauma and recurring episodes of his encounter with his elder brother. And of course, there are the other issues that he has… He rarely leaves the compound. He has next to no social interaction. And quite frankly, _I_ don't know how much the extent of his loyalty lies with Konoha seeing as hatred for his brother grows by each passing day. That is, of course, concerning but just a thought for now and hope that it remains that way. At the very least, I would want someone I trust to handle it. Also, seeing as he is the last Uchiha and possesses the infamous Kekkei Genkai, the Council will most likely influence you into mentoring Sasuke-kun but that isn't to say that it's peremptory. I have final say on it."

He laid his head on his hands with a concerned expression, "And on the other hand, there's Naruto-kun. I would honestly admit that before _certain _circumstances happened… which led me ultimately to making this decision; Naruto-kun possessed no talent. A nameless orphan. That was all he was and all he was _made out_ to be. His academy statistics and IQ score were well below the average as you've undoubtedly seen in the report I've given you." Upon the nod of his Shinobi, he paused a little before he continued, "I've come to notice that it was entirely my fault…" The Hokage concluded for then which astounded the masked Shinobi.

"I've done a lot of wrong things in my life, Kakashi-kun… A lot of things I regret… And the unfortunate treatment of Naruto-kun is one of them. His ostracisation. The village needed a scapegoat and… I let him be just that. Those who leaked such cardinal information about him are still unknown. But it could've been avoided had I tried harder… A loophole could've been found around had I worked hard enough and Naruto-kun wouldn't have had to face the trails he did till this very day. He would've had a normal childhood as did my very own grandson. Kami knows he deserves it."

The Sharingan user knew that it wasn't easy for the Hokage to admit that much to him and characterize himself as sentimental in front of him, mainly due to his esteemed position, but he understood that didn't matter right now. He wanted to come clean. And what was he to say anything? He himself was riddled with guilt in regards to the blonde-haired Shinobi.

The Hokage then concluded, "You can't focus on both of them. You would've had to be partial towards one of them. Had Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun been on the same team, it would've been a mistake. I hope you understand that now."

There was a lot that the old Hokage couldn't tell the masked Shinobi. The introduction of his counterpart, his self-attempts on his life. He was already dealing with demons before and didn't want to impose any more burdens on the masked Shinobi.

The Sharingan user by all fair means did not know what to think. The Hokage was making a fair disputation. He still wanted his Sensei's son on his team but that was his own sentimentality talking and besides, the Hokage was right. He couldn't deal with both of them concurrently. But due to the obligations he felt, he was ready to resort to drastic measures if he had to… but even if he would have been able to deal with both of them, then the third individual on their team would have been neglected. The argument was ambiguous but the experienced Shinobi knew better than that.

But if he was being honest with himself, as much as he hated to admit it, he wanted the Uchiha on his team more due to _certain_ reasons_. _He was ashamed of being partial towards the Uchiha more than his late Sensei's son, but the recurring guilt he felt in regards to his teammate was more persuasive than that and he relented.

But that was before he had this discussion with the Hokage. Those were his initial thoughts coming into this whole state of taking on an official team_ this year _when the Hokage told him who his students were going to be. That nagging in the back of his mind that was telling him that it was wrong of him and selfish to do such a thing… but he was _ignorant_ due to his state of perpetual guilt.

It was then he gathered that it was probably for the better that the blonde-haired chibi would be transferred to another team. It was for the better, he deduced both in regards to his future growth and maturity. He knew that. He deserved unparalleled attention. And he also felt that he didn't deserve to teach him either. As much as he wanted to have him on his team, he relented. But of course not without his curiosity.

"I see… Who is going to be mentoring Naruto then?"

The old war-ridden Hokage gave a small smile, "Another _Uzumaki_…"

**~~X~~**

"Nii-chan, this one is so cool!"

Ashina took his Chibi to the weapons shop after they were done with their onslaught of ramen from Ichiraku. Teuchi and Ayame were happy that Naruto found someone who could take care of the blonde. They were rather fond of the boy and it was reciprocated by the blonde as well. He could talk for hours in front of both of them and they would listen to the boy with their utmost intention. Teuchi even gave the boy an extra if he had earned it. Ayame would rub his cute little whiskers from time to time. They adored the boy so much that they kicked out any customer who asked them to rid of him. The father and daughter were two of the very few people who had the blonde's respect and affection.

There were a couple of weapon stores in Konoha but Ashina as his adult self knew which one was foremost out of all of them. The Takahashi forge and co. There was a multitude of reasons why the redhead chose this. It was owned by the father of Naruto's senior by two years Tenten. Tenten's father was a retired Shinobi who also served in the third Great War. So he was familiar with the outcome of the Kyuubi invasion and what happened. He was neutral in regards to the container of the great Nine-tails.

But that wasn't the reason Ashina chose this shop to go to. He would take care of anyone who would try to harm the boy through prudent _means_. It was because it was the best one in Konoha and the only one who made and forged Kenjutsu weaponry. Specifically Katana and Wakizashi. Granted, it wasn't in use as it once was during the time of the First and Second Hokage but they still made them on demand. The art was not forgotten.

The compound was also in need of training equipment as well as basic weapons like Shuriken, Kunai. They needed to stock up and that required a rather large sum of money. But the redhead had no problems as far as finance was concerned. His parents had left him quite a large sum of money after their passing and it was up to Hiruzen to give to the blonde once he reached the rank of Chunin or he turned eighteen. During Ashina's timeline, the Sandaime had passed away and could not give the blonde turned redhead his inheritance and it was buried away. Ashina had found out about his forgotten birthright in a journal Kushina wrote during her pregnancy.

And even if that was a concern, he was getting a steady income from his contribution to the village through the Council he made upon the conciliation and inclusion of the Uzumaki clan into Konoha's official ranks. Minato and Kushina had never made it official. Why they didn't. It's unspecified. And besides, Ashina knew he needed all the political supremacy he could gather in order for his plan to succeed in regards to Hinata. It was just a matter of time.

Naruto was looking over a katana. It was an intricate one and the forgery was exquisite. It was single edged and seemed about sixty centimetres in length with the moderate curve ever so present. The hilt was covered with a ribbon of black clothing with the kanji for Fear etched into the blade collar. It was almost as if the cloth was woven on the hilt itself. It felt like it was able to accommodate both hands. Before the blonde could touch the blade, a rather gruff voice called out, "That one's not for sale, Shorty."

The blonde visibly fumed but he was held by his Nii-chan's vice-like grip on his shoulder which made the blonde cringe a little and the gruff man snicker. The redhead made his introduction, "Sorry, Takahashi-san… I'm Ashina…Uzumaki. And this _Shorty_ here is Uzumaki Naruto."

The gruff brown-haired man held out his hand for the redhead to shook to which he did with a firm grip, "An Uzumaki, huh? It's been a while since I've met one of you. Although the red hair should've been a dead giveaway…" He stated with a grin.

"I was out on a long term mission and came back recently."

"I see… I fought with a few of you in the third War. Tell you what, after the battle was won... I felt lucky we were on the same sides. You people are tough bastards to kill. It's a crying shame that Uzushiogakure is no more... Kami knows we still need them." The brown-haired man said with a chuckle and a moment of silence before he continued, "And Fūinjutsu, unlike anything I've ever seen... My daughter is also a user and can hold herself well but she ain't got nothing against the likes I saw back in the war…"

The redhead chuckled, "Thanks for the compliment, Takahashi-san. And yes, they can get a bit complicated. Naruto here is a level one right now." He patted his Chibi's back roughly which made him snarl a bit. He loved teasing him.

"Oh? I should introduce him to my daughter… If Shorty here graduated from this batch, then Tenten would probably be a year his senior maybe? Or was it two?" He shrugged inadvertently. He then yelled out his daughter's name, "**Tenten!**"

A loud and angry yell of _'Coming!'_ was reciprocated at the man's words. And not more than a few seconds later, a petite girl with brown eyes and hair the same as her father appeared. She was wearing a pink sleeveless qipao-style blouse, with red sleeve trimmings and yellow fastening buttons. With dark green pants at the bottom. A pouch strapped to her thigh. Her brown hair was styled in two Chinese-styled buns. Her hair combined with her choice of clothing kind of made her look like a panda, in Naruto's opinion. The same forehead protector donning her forehead as the blonde-haired Ninja.

The girl seemed like she was staggering a little with a sweat trail down her cheek, and was out of breath. She growled a little, "I just came back from training, Tou-san. This better be important…"

Her father held up his hands in an amused way, used to his daughter's actions, "Easy there, Ten-chan… I wanted to introduce to someone from the academy… He's also into sealing and I thought you two would get along…" He said with a grin while slapping the blonde's back next to him making him huff and growl.

The girl looked towards the customers or guests her father had. A tall and _gorgeous_ redhead with a perfect jawline and cheekbones was standing. With eyes as blue as the ocean, who waved at her with a smile when she saw him. She waved back with a small blush present on her cheeks. She wasn't one to fantasize or harbour any crushes like the bandwagon but it didn't hurt to admire now, did it? Next to the handsome man was a kid younger than her with almost the same azure eyes as the redhead. He had a bit of baby fat on his face but he was cute with those whiskers like birthmarks.

She made her way in front of them and gave a small bow with her introduction. The redhead gave his name with a small nod. The blonde Shinobi, on the other hand, was quick to respond with, "Uzumaki Naruto. Pleased to meet you!" He stated whilst pointing to himself in his usual grin and energetic self.

She responded with a small grin and a wave, "Hey."

While Tenten and Naruto acquainted themselves with each other, the redhead asked the gruff man, "You have no problems with Naruto-kun being friends with your daughter?"

The man gave a small wave dismissively and went behind the counter of the store, "So how can I help you, Ashina-san?"

The redhead pulled out a scroll and unsealed the contents on the counter table. It was a tattered cloth with something inside. When the contents were revealed, the man's jaw dropped.

"Where in the _fucking hell…_did you get your hands on this?"

The redhead just gave a grin in response. The contents contained something which was _very_ rare. It was chakra metal. One of the few things the redhead brought with himself from his timeline. Chakra metal could only be made from ores found in remote mountains in Iwagakure or Kumogakure. It was scarce and very rare. It also had certain distinguished properties which made it different from regular steel. Mainly because it could accommodate chakra, which was very beneficial for a Shinobi. Especially for a wind user like Ashina. Or even Raiton, if he needed to.

"I had something like this in mind…"

He pulled out a piece of paper which had a crude drawing of a katana with the dimensions given next to the variants and also the preferences mentioned. It looked like it was based on a traditional design. The Hamon was particularly challenging, the sword maker mused.

Katana Hamon was the part of the sword referred to as the blade pattern. The effect produced by the hardening process. It was very challenging and difficult to make, and especially if the customer had a preference rather than the norm. The process could be repeated up to five times if it's not according to the person's liking because of the steel's limitation.

The steel was already accounted for which the redhead had provided. The Bo'hi was a straight groove that was mainly utilized to lighten the blade and allowed more speed to the wielder. That was also mentioned in the preferences. The tip was not the traditional Kissaki but one of the variants. The length was thankfully standard and was based on the metal provided which made the sword-maker give out a sigh of relief. The handle was standard metal but due to accommodating chakra, it was required to also make that with chakra metal for the chakra to flow fluidly. The blade collar was made to have the whirlpool insignia on both sides etched in. The handle, the redhead wanted to be wrapped with a red cloth making the scabbard also red. The scabbard itself was made to have whirlpool insignias on it. The redhead was quite keen on that because of reasons.

He wanted his clan to prosper and people to know about the Uzumaki clan and the sacrifices it made for the village. He was angered and saddened at the fact that the village did not remember the contributions the clan made for it and the deeds the members of the clan undertook. The _burdens_. Dolorously and latterly, being the Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko, the great Nine-tailed fox. Although the censure was made in very distinguished circumstances in Ashina and Naruto's case. Naruto and Ashina's mother Kushina was made to carry such a burden and Uzumaki Mito before her.

Whatever the circumstances, whether it was the clan's vitality or their unique chakra, it was _their_ people affected. It couldn't be blamed that they were obligated to do so. They were not a part of the village even if they had good relations with it. They were not even a part of the official ranks before the redhead's efforts. But that was a discussion for another time.

He shook himself back to the sword maker who stated with a sigh, "This ain't easy what you're asking, Ashina-san… Especially the chakra constructs in the handle because of its mechanical nature. I assume you'll handle it yourself with a binary seal?"

"Never said it was... And yes." The redhead stated with a smile.

"Chakra metal is very difficult to forge…but not like it ain't possible. It'll make the price go a little higher, I admit, but it'll be according to your liking."

"That's all I want…"

"Expect it to be done in two to three weeks."

**~~X~~**

"Hey, how did you do that?"

Naruto scratched his head with a confused expression, "Do what?"

The bun-haired Kunoichi was flabbergasted and was making such a face that Naruto found to be utterly amusing. She stated with a rather tense tone, "You're serious, right? You're not messing around with me?"

"Nope."

The girl groaned with misery in her tone which led him to slightly pull away from her, "Wait… You're not going to hit me now, are you?" He asked suddenly petrified.

The girl suddenly lost her self-inflicting expression and giggled a bit at the horrified expression he was making, "No, silly… Why would I hit you?"

"Oh."

Instant calm.

'_A weird one…' _The girl pondered. _'But talented too…'_

Naruto had shown her or rather drawn, one of the seals he was working on. A task given to him by his Nii-chan. The Kanji wasn't perfect but he was getting there. The seal wasn't a complex one by any means and by _his_ technique and mechanism. It was a storage seal that his Nii-chan could make while blindfolded, in seconds. It was efficient for the blonde to know about these, the redhead had told him. No more backpacks, no more carrying all that stupid stuff. It was pretty simple. So he didn't get why the panda girl in front of him was so surprised at that.

"Do you even know what you just did?" The girl said in her perplexed state.

"I mean… I made a storage seal. The one I was working on?" Naruto said still surprised why the girl was making **that** face.

The panda haired girl stated with gritted teeth, "That seal is supposed to be a level 6 seal according to the index… Genin aren't supposed to learn seals t-this complex! I'm a level 3 or 4 at best right now and that seal is beyond me…"

The blonde scratched his head, "Really? Nii-chan made it look pretty easy… Took me a while to get it down but I did do it!" He said with a puffed chest which made the girl smile amusedly.

'_Definitely a weird one…'_ which was saying something because of certain people she was acquainted with on her team. She didn't know whether he was pretending to not know what he had done or maybe he was just that naïve. Because that seal was something unlike she hadn't seen from the many books she read on Fūinjutsu. The technique was flawless. The drawing wasn't perfect, but it was understandable that it was inexperience, mainly because she had been there herself.

The arrays were aligned in ways she hadn't thought possible. The matrix was complex in a certain way; it was tied in with the variant arrays themselves. It was amazing because it was complex at first glance, but was utterly simple once you got past the entanglements. It was perfect for hiding explosive seals. _Cheeky_ was the word she would use.

Her main objective was storage seals so she was familiarised with them the most because her arsenal and her techniques were mainly reliant on scrolls filled with seals. Unfortunately, she couldn't use this technique as much as she wanted to, because her muscle memory on drawing seals was dependent on her version of it, but it didn't hurt to learn more about it.

"Can you draw it again? I wanna look at it carefully…"

Now the blonde was a bit nervous heading into this whole thing. When the panda girl grabbed his hand and took him to her house's yard as it was connected with the shop itself. He was sceptical or rather apprehensive because he had never hung out with anyone like this before. Sure he didn't let it show but he was a lonely kid. Because no parent had ever let their kid play with him. He covered it up with a mask bearing a semblance of being neutral or happy which no one other than his Nii-chan had been able to discern so far. He didn't lose hope of course but it was irksome and was beginning to get to the point that he just might think of lashing out instead of remaining quiet. But that didn't happen. So he was happy when the girl told him that he could use her sealing kit which consisted of a brush and a pot of ink. It was simple, yes. But to someone like the blonde who had next to no friends and next to no remarks of empathy, it meant a lot. And he had his talk with the redhead which told him all he needed to do was just be himself. That he can open up to someone and that not every other girl wanted to hit or berate him.

He gave his usual grin with his eyes closed to the bun-haired girl next to him.

"Sure!"

**~~X~~**

Kurenai and Hinata were making their way to the Uzumaki compound. The timid Hyuuga had her hands interlocked in front of her and was twiddling with her fingers supporting a small blush which made Kurenai smirk. The ebony-haired beauty had told her that her date the other night was also a Shinobi and he was one of the Sensei taking on a team this year and had asked for her.

Naturally, this inclined Hinata to know more because she was already curious about him because of his resemblance to Naruto-kun. Kurenai-sensei had told her that he indeed was in fact related to the blonde as he was a member of his clan and was taking care of him. She was surprised when she found out that her crush was a member of a clan. There was no mention of the Uzumaki clan in the books that were used to teach in the academy. Maybe her father would know about it. She would ask him. Maybe.

She was also happy when she found out that the blonde had found someone to take care of him because she knew how the blonde was treated. She was never outside of the compound except for the academy so she didn't know the details but she knew that her crush was lonely and she still remembered what he told her that day when he found her outside of her compound walls. She wanted to be his friend but her shy and meek nature never let her do so.

This led to her current dilemma. She was about to meet her crush for the first time! Was it really meeting him? Maybe she wouldn't talk. Maybe she should try and approach him? Maybe he would like to her friend? She was nervous and rightly so. Kurenai-sensei had told her to calm down but how could she? She was about to meet her crush!

They stopped outside the clan walls. The gate was open already; the redhead must've detected their arrival. Kurenai turned to the side and saw that Hinata was still twiddling with her fingers, supporting the same blush which made her giggle a little inwardly; it was just so cute! To see her behave like this. Only the blonde could bring out this side of her. She was shy and reserved but it was never this _excessive_ to say the very least. She had an idea about helping her student, but it all depended on this meeting.

She knelt down in front of her modest student, "Now now, Hinata… What did we talk about?" She stated with a slightly stern tone but amusement could very well be detected in her tone. Not that her student was in a position to detect so.

"S-Sensei… Please…" She said in a barely audible tone, "L-Let's go back…"

The ruby-eyed beauty hummed with an inquisitive tone, "Hmm… What would Uzumaki-kun think, I wonder?" This had the desired effect on the Hyuuga as she titled her neck with speed her future father-in-law would've been impressed by. She continued, "And what was that motto that Uzumaki-kun had or rather lived by?"

A stern expression replaced by her meek and gentle one, "T-To never g-go back on m-my w-word! That's my n-ninja way!" She said or shouted rather with her eyes closed and her hands in fists clearly amped.

But it was short-lived when they heard, "Hey, Kurenai-sensei!"

The blonde was walking towards them with one hand in his pocket and a small wave which oddly reminded Kurenai of Kakashi somehow. He was grinning with his usual squint. The indigo haired girl next to her, on the other hand, was not doing so great. She let out her usual 'eep!' and hid behind her sensei at the sound of her crush coming forth to greet them.

The blonde noticed that and was curious as to who she was and why she did that. He made his way in front of the ruby-eyed beauty who greeted him with a smile, "Hi yourself, Uzumaki-kun."

The blonde then pointed to the girl who was hiding behind her Sensei who just shook her head with an amused smile. He went ahead and greeted with his usual enthusiasm, "Hey! Um, Hinata, right? We're in the same class together."

No response.

He continued with a small frown, "Hey, why are ya hiding, y'know!"

This had the desired effect as the girl separated discreetly from her Sensei one step at a time. She kept twiddling with her index fingers and bowed slightly, "…H-Hello… N..N-Naruto-kun…" She said in a barely audible voice.

He lent his ear suddenly close to her, "Huh? What did you say, Hinata?!" He shouted a little. Maybe she was mute.

The girl, on the other hand, blushed full-red at the close proximity of her crush, '_N-Naruto-kun… S-So close…'_

But before she could further engulf herself in her introversion, the ebony-haired woman next to her decided to intervene, "Uzumaki-kun!"

This shook the blonde as he looked at the Genjutsu-mistress in an inquisitive glance which made her elaborate, "She's just feeling a little down today."

'_I made it in time… Otherwise, the poor girl was definitely going to faint… But ohh, so cute!'_

This made the blonde utter an 'oh' and frown. He felt kind of bad now that he yelled at her a little. If his Nii-chan was here, he'd definitely get shredded for that. He then approached the indigo-haired girl whose face was kind of red. Maybe she had a fever?

He gave a small bow, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell at you. I hope you feel better." This surprised the ruby-eyed woman next to the girl because the cute gaki was never known for his conduct. It was actually quite the opposite.

An innocent frown was on his _masculine _face making his whisker marks wrinkle which was the Hyuuga's favourite part of the blonde's face next to his gorgeous blue eyes. Now was not the time to fantasize! She felt really bad that she made the blonde feel this way.

'_No!'_

She had promised herself! She won't back down. She would talk to him!

She took a deep and calming breath. Still twiddling with her index fingers and not making any eye contact in the slightest, "I-It's okay, N-Naruto-kun… I-It was m-my fault to begin w-with…"

Kurenai uttered a sigh of relief at that. A coherent sentence in front of the blonde. It was progress.

The blonde was confused as to why she talked like that but still gave a bright smile at hearing that, "No worries, Hinata! I hope we can be friends!"

His response threw the indigo-haired girl for a loop. The girl was astonished… to say the very least. She never would have expected that the _proud failure, _her source of strength, her source of willpower, the one she looked up to, would ever be friends with someone like her. A disappointment. To her family and her clan. Surprise didn't even begin to describe what she felt, and that was just sugarcoating it. It was like her brain disconnected and she just looked towards her crush with a bamboozled expression.

"Hello?"

"Hinata?"

It took a couple of tries but her brain rebooted and it was able to process what happened. Warmth flooded her cheeks as she was happy after many days as she could remember. She gave a complacent smile and finally made eye contact with her crush, "I-I would like that… N-Naruto-kun…"

Naruto just grinned in response with a thumbs up.

Kurenai was fawning internally but shook herself off in front of the genin, "Shall we head inside, Uzumaki-kun? I would like to speak to your Nii-san about something…"

"Oh… right! Sorry… Come on in!"

**~~X~~**

The redhead was sitting on the chair in front of the desk with scrolls littered on it. He was working on a seal himself with his clone working on clan issues he had to deal with in regards to the Council. There were still a lot of issues that he needed to work out. First and foremost would be the compound's deeds which were conformed by the Council and the laws of the village. But to make it official, a title needed to be instated which was what his clone was working on in terms of the necessary documents required for it. It was a hell of a lot of politics that Ashina himself never felt he was obligated to do so unless he needed to. Shikamaru always dealt with that in his stead.

The seal, on the other hand, was much more interesting. It was a thermal seal. Its uses were a multitude. He could use it for a bedspread, which was more in the sense conventional and trivial, kind of. He could use it during missions but due to utilizing Kyuubi's chakra to its magnitude, he could negate the cold or render it ineffective when he needed to. His team could use it on the other hand. Chibi wasn't a problem once he got the basics sorted out. But maybe Hinata could when and if the opportunity arises. The seal wasn't his idea. Apparently, he saw the seal in the master bedroom on the old bedspread. It wasn't changed. It was chalky and arenose but the seal was still present so he wanted to work on it and improve it if possible.

It was definitely made by an Uzumaki. Especially immaterial ones like these. It was his mother's work, he guessed. The journal that Kushina wrote had mentioned that during her free time during her pregnancy, she polished her Fūinjutsu skill because she couldn't train or take missions, obviously due to her condition. She had gotten lax in her seal making and that she needed to draw them rather than a direct appliance. Minato had gotten better than her and she had always considered him a rival. So it was a matter of pride for her.

Seals could be regarded similar to hand seals in the sense that in order to congregate or amass chakra, certain hand seals needed to be performed for a certain type of jutsu. Both hands were required for that, but certain Shinobi have achieved that level of skill that they could do so with one hand. Even rarer was with no hands at all. Fūinjutsu was easier than hand seals but it was still difficult to do so. Once the user had the seal conceived, he could apply so. An example was of the Fourth or the Second Hokage with their Hiraishin seal, or _tag_ rather.

He was working on the actual thermal aspect of it. It involved storing just the right amount of Katon chakra for the optimum temperature to render. He did not want a seal to be rendered with the wrong amount of Katon chakra because of its deleterious nature. Kami already knows he did it more than once. But before he could do any more work on the seal, a chakra signature made its presence known which brought a smile to his face. He dismissed the clone working next to him.

"Come in, Kurenai-chan."

Said woman was in the process of knocking the door when she heard the redhead utter the words through the door. She probably should have hidden her chakra but that would have been cliché, right? Trying to be sneaky and all that. Why was she even thinking that anyways?

She stepped inside and before she knew it, her face was being lifted into a lip-lock with her recently found boyfriend. So much for being subtle and having _the_ awkward air around them. She had missed the feeling of having his soft lips against her own so relented wholeheartedly with a small hum. Unfortunately, there wasn't any tongue involved much to her displeasure and the redhead separated before she could do anything. Not that she wanted to, of course.

He separated whilst cupping the ruby-eyed beauty's face with his hand, "I thought I'd save us both the awkwardness… you don't mind, do you?" Knowing exactly how the woman was going to respond.

She shied away from his hand with a complacent smile while mumbling something in the negative which made him snicker and her frown due to his response.

She kept her frown which made him stop and utter with a small grin, "Okay, I'm sorry…"

He really wasn't.

She sighed. She was used to Anko's antics so it wasn't really a surprise if her boyfriend was the same way. Maybe he liked pulling pranks too.

"Uzumaki-kun is showing Hinata, or giving her a tour rather, of the compound."

He gave a small smile, "I see."

His smile made her look at him with a slight curious gaze, "You know?"

"I do, yes. News travels fast around here…" He said thinking of a certain Yamanaka.

She gave a sigh at that, "You don't know the half of it. But honestly, how can someone be this dense?"

"I-I wouldn't know."

It was pretty much him she was talking about.

"But of course he's not completely at fault here…" She said in an obvious sentiment.

"Of course…"

She looked him in the eyes as he was leaning against the desk with the scrolls littered, his arms crossed looking every bit the Adonis he was. He was wearing a black v-neck which did little to no effort in hiding his scarred but potentially perfect and ripped forearms. Her mouth felt dry all of a sudden. But she quickly let her mind run elsewhere, specifically to the cute students that were hanging around in the floor above her.

"Ashina-kun?"

He looked up and made contact with her fluttering ruby eyes and hummed in response that he was listening.

"Would you consider…" How should she phrase this…? "Getting Uzumaki-kun and Hinata together?"

The redhead smirked at her, "Playing matchmaker are we?"

The ebony-haired beauty blushed a bit at his response but gave him a seemingly salacious smile which made him blush a bit in response to _her_ endearment. Two could play at that game.

"I might be…"

"And I might just agree with you."

She looked at her boyfriend in the eyes and they told her he wasn't lying. The ruby-eyed woman was ecstatic that the redhead agreed but felt like there was something he wasn't telling her by his tone, body language and expression. He, on the other hand, knew she would be able to discern it. It was practically deliberate on his part.

He elaborated further by explaining what he had planned, telling her everything that he discussed with Kurama. His plan in regards to the blonde and the indigo-haired girl and what Kushina had in mind, without telling her the actual identity of the blonde's mother and of course his fuzzy and furry companion.

Although it prompted Kurenai to ask about her, he told her that he will do so at a time he deemed right. Naturally, it piqued her curiosity but she didn't ask any further. Being a Shinobi, and the world they lived in, she knew there was a multitude of reasons why the redhead was not telling her. She didn't give it much thought and focused again. He would tell her on his own accord.

By the time the redhead was done, the ruby-eyed woman was shocked to say the very least. And that was an understatement. She definitely needed a few minutes to process this and the redhead gladly gave her that. During his explanation, he had her sit down in one of the chairs in front of the desk which the redhead was leaning against. And she was glad he did that.

"I know it's a lot to take in…"

"You don't say…"

He gave a chuckle at that, "I can understand..."

Kurenai had her apprehensions regarding this, "But how will you convince Hiashi? Assuming that the clan even hears what you have to say. Kami, they're such assholes…" She muttered at the end.

"Hmm, why's that?"

The ebony-haired beauty gave a sigh at that crossing her arms and her dainty legs making the redhead squirm a bit and cough into his hand. Kurenai smirked at that. She was enjoying every bit of teasing the redhead. It was very cute seeing his composed demeanour crack a little.

"Well, you've been gone the past few years…" She paused a little before she stated, "Anyways, that's irrelevant. You wouldn't know about that."

Kurenai was apprehensive but it wasn't anything that was secretive in any way. The redhead hadn't disappointed whenever she sought out rhetorical guidance from him so far. And besides, he had that inherent emanation around him that he could provide guidance and insight on matters such as these.

She continued, "It's about Hinata."

"What about her?"

"She's…" She paused before she said, "She has confidence issues, Ashina-kun. And not of the norm…"

The redhead nodded along allowing Kurenai to continue further, "When Hinata was a child, she was kidnapped. I assume you know of the Hyuuga Affair that took place nine years ago?"

The azure-eyed Shinobi gave a small nod at that, "Hinata was saved by her father and the personating envoy was killed... But it wasn't without repercussions, as you very well know."

"Hiashi-san changed after his brother was killed… He became more cold and strict towards his children. Being generally withdrawn from them. Hinata because of her shy and diffident nature didn't cope well with that. First, she had lost her mother when she was young and then her father becoming next to non-existent… And now she's lost the Heiress position to her sister."

"Due to Hiashi favouring Hanabi over Hinata, it sort of led to her being ostracised by the clan and being claimed as weak. But I know and have spent enough time with her to infer that she's anything but that."

The ruby-eyed mistress gave a small sigh, "I guess I'm just worried about her. And she's like a little sister to me ever since Hokage-sama tasked me with taking care of her."

"Actually I have something to tell you myself, Kurenai-chan. And it does concern Hinata-chan."

The redhead had a slightly unnerving expression, "Due to certain reasons_, _Hokage-sama has made some changes in the team placements…"

"You don't mean to say…"

"I apologise but that is the case. Hinata won't be on your team."

"I'll see if I can talk to Hokage-sama… Maybe we could come to an agreement…"

The ruby-eyed woman was just about to get up and leave when the redhead held her arm. Kurenai looked up inquisitively as to why the azure-eyed Shinobi did that.

The redhead gave her an encouraging smile, "Hear me out, Kurenai-chan."

"You don't have to worry. Because Hinata-chan will be on my team. Team placements haven't been told as of yet officially but Hokage-sama told me…"

"I guess that explains why your clone wanted me to bring her."

The redhead paused abruptly when he saw the apprehensive look the ebony-haired beauty had. He held her hand which made her squeak a little not being used to the gesture. She looked at him inquisitively with a small blush.

The azure-eyed Shinobi gave her an earnest expression, "I promise to look after and tend to her as much as I will to Naruto-kun… You have my word."

Kurenai felt familiar warmth inside her chest when the redhead uttered his last few words. She cupped his whiskered face with her right hand and stroked it unintentionally which made him purr a little bit obviously liking the attention it was getting. She pulled his face down to her height and made contact with his lips with her own soft ones. This time she took the lead by cupping his jaw with her soft and dainty hands before tilting her head sideways.

She was easily overwhelmed with her feelings and briefly wondered if he enjoyed kissing her as much as she does. But that hesitance was quickly forgotten when the redhead kissed her back with equal if not greater fervour.

She kissed him with experience recalling what little knowledge she had from their brief time spent together. Trying to mirror what he did and adding her own touch into it. Paying close attention to how he elicited such pleasing sensations with his mouth against hers, trying to mimic it. It was a pleasant experience for her, the combination of his soft lips against her own soft and red-tinted ones.

The redhead took her by surprise when he swept her up by her feet briefly and sat in the chair which was occupied by her before and let her sit on his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him in. He really did smell good, she thought in a slightly eerie and tingly sentiment. She was very pleased when his hands wrapped around the small of her back but was a little bit disappointed that they didn't descend lower. He was obviously doing that out of respect for her which made her hum against his lips pleased by his thoughtfulness.

It was little over an hour or so when they were done with their little make-out session. Kurenai had her arms wrapped around the redhead's neck and was panting a little. Her red-tinted lips felt like they were on fire. Hot and swollen, and the lipstick was smudged a bit at the edge judging by the marks on the redhead's whiskered cheek. Her eyes were lidded and her favourite pair of panties were supporting an obvious wet mark due to the intense session that they had.

She could feel something big and hard press against her own nether region which made her blush vigorously but didn't say anything. She couldn't explain it but she felt sort of proud that she made _that_ happen. But wasn't really consenting with her own feelings about it. Obviously choosing to ignore such crude and lewd thoughts. And to her surprise, the redhead himself was supporting a small blush and was panting a bit. His expressions just as much enthralled as hers.

The redhead was the one who broke the silence with a teasing expression, "You're learning, Kurenai-chan…"

The woman blushed in response but held her nerve and responded with an almost equal and unrelenting expression, "Maybe it's because I have such a good teacher…"

"Oh? In that case, perhaps you would like me to teach you more? I can be persuaded… pretty easily." He almost whispered in the end whilst tilting his head and moving in towards her very kissable lips.

"_Mmm... _Yes please, Sensei-kun…"

**~~X~~**

Naruto's room comprised of two-toned painted walls. The upper coat was painted almost a hunter green. Almost like his old apartment room. A poster with plastered on the wall with a _'No Ramen; No Life' _catchphrase. Definitely Naruto. The room had a double-sized oakwood bed with the Uzumaki spiral on the headboard, a simple side-table standing next to the bed with a lamp on it. The windowsill had a tandem of plants which were gleaming in the sunlight. They looked like they were well taken care of judging by the arrangement of the plants.

Looking closely, Hinata could judge that it was a style which was fairly known. Being a member of such an illustrious clan and also being the former Heiress of the main family, Hinata was well versed in the art of flower arranging. Her father had instilled such activities to both her and her sister as they needed to perform the part of being a member of such a prestigious clan rather than simply playing the role of it. He was adamant about that during various parts of their strict upbringing. There was also the fact that it was tradition. And besides, the self-effacing Hyuuga loved flower arranging. They had their very own teacher who was of the clan but Hinata visited the academy and took classes which were specified for Kunoichi which included the art simply because she was passionate about it.

There were two pots. One of them was a tree she loved arranging. It was cherry blossom. An old symbol of the wabi-sabi concept. Her first thought went out to their classmate Sakura-san whose name translated to the plant literally. She knew of the blonde's crush and briefly wondered whether it was kept as an evocation of her. But quickly shook herself off of those thoughts. It was too creepy even for her standards who some would say was a profound stalker of the blonde and the plushy doll she kept of her crush in her bedside table in her room. No! Definitely not creepy!

Second thought she had was that the blonde kept it as a symbolic gesture of what the plant represented and what it signified ethnically. Cherry blossoms were representatives of transience and imperfection. But contemporarily, they signified benevolence and kindness. That is why they were considered such a gratifying gift to give to someone. This led Hinata to her current conjecture. It wasn't a farfetched thought as the plant already had a distinct style. But before she could contemplate more on the matter, she noticed that the other current occupant of the room was staring at her intently which made her blush heavily and start twiddling with her fingers again.

During their tour of the compound, Naruto exaggerated, telling her about himself and about his Nii-chan and Hinata listened on intently and gave her thoughts here and there. She noticed there was lot more to the blonde than he let on. Especially when she heard some of the training regiments the blonde was undergoing. Mainly regarding Fuinjutsu. Even the pot had a seal which rendered the plant according to the optimal conditions from what Naruto told her.

The blonde was looking at her with an intent expression. He took notice of the nervous habit of her twiddling fingers without knowing it was a nervous feedback. He didn't know why she had such weird habits. She was definitely shy, he gathered. And her face got quite red whenever he got close to her. His Nii-chan did say that he should communicate with people to get to know them better rather than making assumptions.

He should probably ask her. He again went close to her without realising what that could cause.

"Say, Hinata… Why does your face get so red whenever I get close to you?"

She was too busy twiddling with her fingers and her eyes were closed shut so she didn't notice the blonde moving close to her. She let out a squeak.

"Eep!"

She jumped a bit obviously not used to the proximity and was about to fall but imagine her surprise when the blonde caught her and stared into her pale lavender-tined eyes with his cerulean ones. It was too much for her! He gave her one of his cheeky eye-smiles which made her blush heavily on top of her already red-tined cheeks. She definitely felt like she looked like a tomato right now. But this might be the perfect moment. This could be it! This might be her chance. She could confess to him!

Hinata jumped in his arms and answered in regards to his previous question. It was relevant to her confession, of course. Looking up at him almost like a startled bird, "I-I… o-oh yes, N-Naruto-kun, I…" It was when it happened as she stopped abruptly. The way he was looking at her with such a concerned expression and her being in his arms was too much for her poor timid soul. Her eyes rolled towards the back of her head and she slumped in his arms as unconsciousness took over her.

The blonde, on the other hand, panicked when the girl fainted. It all just happened so fast. He was lucky he caught her and just gave her a nervous smile and afterwards a concerned expression when he did. But that seemed to have the opposite effect as she had an expression that was literally awe. And then all of a sudden blank. A dead slump in his arms. Was she dead?!

"**NII-CHAN!"**

A couple of seconds later his Nii-chan shunshined into the room with oddly enough Kurenai-sensei, in his arms. Her hair was disheveled and her face was almost as flushed as the weird girl in his arms. And… were those bite marks on her neck?

The redhead had a slightly panicked expression when he arrived in the room but when he saw the questionable position his Chibi was in, it changed into a grin which was mirrored by the Kunoichi next to him but with a small giggle.

The blonde, on the other hand, was furious but at least was not in a mental state of blunder as he was assured that his new friend was alive when he saw her breathing normally. He frowned at the supposed adults in the room and yelled, "Why are you guys laughing, y'know?! Can't you see?!"

The ruby-eyed Sensei was the one who answered still laughing, "Please lay her on the bed, Uzumaki-kun. I was almost wondering when it would happen."

The blonde was confused but still did as asked. He let her down on the large bed placing her almost smaller than his form on the bedspread carefully, placing her head on the pillow. After he was done, he let out a sigh of relief. He heard snickering and focused his attention back to the adults in the room and glared at them which made them stop. Although amusement was still littered on their faces.

Kurenai was expecting it to happen any moment now. She was still sitting on the redhead's lap when it happened. She talked for a while, alternating between getting the life kissed out of her, as she discussed in great detail with the redhead about Hinata and told him about her and about the crush she harboured on the blonde. Told him about her in general. About what sort of person she was. And the redhead reciprocated the same with his blonde student. She also further asked any details she thought was necessary about the plan he had and anything she could help with.

Although she did confirm from the redhead that the blonde was indeed an orphan, his parents did not leave him to fend for himself but rather arranged for him to live a happy life. But certain circumstances prevented him from living that very ideal life. Yuugao would be very happy to know that, she thought with an endearing sentiment. And speaking of the violet haired Anbu, she needed to discuss that with the redhead.

"So it turns out that my friend who was fond of Uzumaki-kun…" She clenched her teeth apprehensively in front of him which made him chuckle.

He gave a small smile to the ruby-eyed mistress, "I already know what you're worried about, Kurenai-chan." He said in a seemingly knowing sentiment.

"Y-You do?"

But before the redhead could comment, a certain Chibi of his voiced his resentment over the blatant fact that they could be ignoring a very life that could be at stake here.

"Stop trying to mush her face, Nii-chan. You did that already when ya came up here, y'know." Stated the blonde with a frown and with his vocal tic most active during temperamental sentiments such as these.

The redhead had a small red-tint on his whiskered cheeks and put his hand behind his head scratching it with his hand giving the blonde a familiar awkward eye-smile and the woman next to him blushed heavily. The blonde obviously knew that his Nii-chan and the ebony-haired Sensei were dating. What they were doing wasn't so hard to discern as Naruto and Hinata both saw them committing the deed. To avoid giving himself a permanent scar on his innocence, he avoided that room, and the Indigo-haired girl with him shared that sentiment.

"W-Whoever gave you that idea, Uzumaki-kun?" The ruby-eyed beauty tried to wave it off apathetically.

"Oh, nothing other than that we both SAW YOU DOING IT WITH HIS TONGUE IN YOUR FREAKING MOUTH." The blonde huffed with a scorn full of contempt. He obviously didn't need to see that nor did the unconscious girl on his bed. Clearly, in his innocent mind, the 'get a room, you two' context was implied.

The ruby-eyed woman felt like she would die of the embarrassment that she felt right now and hid her face in her hands and shaking her head. Two innocent gakis saw her making out. Literally her tongue intertwined with another's. '_Hinata saw it too…' _She pondered with a mortified expression. Clearly now both of them would require the story about the birds and the bees because… she and her boyfriend were quite evocative so to say in their affection. Hinata probably already knew due to Natsu's influence but didn't seem like the case for the blonde gaki. She pointed towards him indicating the redhead next to her that she was about to speak.

"Does he know…?" She stated hoping she didn't have to elaborate further.

"Does he know what?" The redhead was confused until it came onto him. "Oh… Oh!"

He gave a sheepish smile, "No. He probably doesn't." He knew that because he skipped all of the classes or mostly just slept through all of them when he was a genin rather than paying attention which included Sex Ed. He was gifted with that sacred knowledge when he left on that training journey under the tutelage of one of the biggest perverts in the whole Five Great Nations. But he was as dense as a post back then so it didn't really count.

Because who in their right mind would refuse to lose his virginity to one of the women who were throwing themselves at him simply for the sake of being loyal to a girl who did not even give a shit about him. Oh, how dumb he was. They weren't common whores, mind you. They were respected women but just liked candy in more provocative terms. And the blonde turned redhead did not disappoint the opposite gender in his teenage years. His perverted Sensei, on the other hand, had cried for days when he heard the atrocity the blonde had committed on himself by his refusal, especially when he heard his reasoning for the turndown. The blonde had asked why the pervert was making such a huge deal out of it and the perverted Sage just shook his head in response indicating sheer disappointment muttering something along the lines of, '_Lost chance' _and _'lucky blonde genes'_ with a string of curses_._

His infamous denseness did leave a scar on his ego. He'd rectify that with his Chibi. He had sworn to. He fist-pumped in his subconscious in front of his furry companion which made the fox inside of him sweatdrop at the sight.

The azure-eyed Shinobi sighed, "I should probably deal with that, shouldn't I?"

The woman next to him giggled, "Yes, you probably should. I'd feel bad for you but I had to teach a plethora of horny fangirls when Suzume-san had asked for a favour once. That memory is not… a pretty one. So you're on your own."

The redhead chuckled in response, "I guess I am."

"Just be forward and direct. I tried a duplicitous approach. It didn't work out so well."

The redhead gave her a small nod and then made a sealless clone which impressed the ebony-haired Kunoichi as sealless jutsu were quite formidable in the ninja world and the reasons were obvious. It was clearly advantageous as the user would be able to use jutsu and the enemy wouldn't be able to estimate the disposition of the attack. Gaining potential speed over the opponent would also be plausible. Especially when using a basic attack such as the Shunshin or in the redhead's case, the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which were jutsu which could be combined with various techniques or even make it a fraction of a technique. A prime example of such a user being Uchiha Shisui who was able to utilize the Shunshin to an extent that it had earned him the moniker _Shisui of the Body Flicker _mainly for his incredible mastery over it. His proficiency over the jutsu was evident as it allowed him to utilize the jutsu without hand seals because he was able to procure tangible afterimages as a result of his velocity and mobility. It was only possible if he was able to perform the jutsu in speed which was only manageable and limited to without hand seals.

As chakra being an internal mechanism of the user's body, it allows the user to construct various techniques and jutsu transcribed through the use of a structural matrix such as hand seals. But sealless jutsu negate that factor as they mold chakra without needing the necessary hand seals for it. It's said to be only achievable once a Shinobi is able to control his own chakra and body to a degree that is essentially superhuman. But it wasn't to say that the facts were invariant. Shinobi these days had the tools and means to change that conclusiveness. Rather than the whole body being able to utilize that theory, it was limited to the jutsu itself. Uchiha Shisui was limited to performing only the Shunshin without hand seals, in his case. The redhead, on the other hand, was not limited to one jutsu as the norm but he didn't want to reveal that fact that he was not to anyone else either. Mainly because it would garner a lot of unwanted attention he did not want right now towards himself and would lead to a circumstantial investigation by some people whom he knew to be quite scrutinizing in his timeline.

The ruby-eyed Mistress didn't let it show but she knew that the redhead was a really talented individual from what she saw. Aside from his intricate control over his Futon chakra, which was an amazing feat in itself, she had her own intuition. If she had to guess, he had to be at least on par with Kakashi or either Guy from what she saw as of were both one of the strongest Konoha had to offer, both in their own terms and techniques separately. Asuma was a talented individual but only went as far as his Futon chakra and his demand was in general because of Futon users being such a rarity in Konoha. The redhead had him beat by a mile.

It must have been some mission which kept the redhead away for so long. She did get minute details from him when she had asked during their date but it wasn't relevant and besides missions details were circumscribed and limited only to the Hokage himself. She would learn more as time went by if it was pertinent in any way.

The redhead broke the silence which made her turn her attention towards him, "Can you stay here with Hinata-chan while I take Naruto-kun to… talk."

She winked when she heard what he said, "Good luck, Ashina-kun…" She gave him a small wave and giggled when she saw him frown obviously not liking what was about to come.

The blonde, on the other hand, was looking at them both with a confused expression. Still wondering why they weren't taking his friend falling unconscious in his arms seriously.

The redhead beckoned the blonde to follow him, "Come on, Naruto-kun."

"B-But…But… Hinata…"

"Don't worry. Kurenai-sensei is with her. She'll be fine."

The blonde still had a frown but relented and left the room. The adults in the room were happy to see the blonde caring. The redhead due to reasons obvious and the ruby-eyed beauty because of her shipping the two so indubitably. Kurenai had elaborated the indigo-haired girl's crush on the blonde and explaining her introvert-ness and the probable fainting. Not that the redhead did not already know but for the sake of the timeline.

As Kurenai made her way to sit next to the unconscious Hyuuga, the redhead voiced before he left from the doorway, "The clone I made is fixing something for us to drink. Do you have any preferences?"

"Some tea would be nice, thank you." The woman smiled.

He gave her a nod with a smile and then left.

As soon as the redhead left, the shy and modest girl on the bed started stirring which caught the attention of the woman sitting next to her. She woke up and yawned cutely rubbing her lavender-tinted eyes until she noticed she wasn't in her room, rather in someone else's' and until she noticed her caretaker and Sensei.

"S-Sensei?"

Her Sensei, on the other hand, was grinning at her like a cat that ate a hundred canneries. She was confused until it all came back to her which made her blush heavily and put her face in her hands.

"S-Sensei!"

She bemoaned almost and the ebony-haired Mistress just embraced her with one arm whilst stroking her back with her hand in a soothing gesture with a smile full of amusement. It always seemed to work with her whenever such a situation for comfort arose. It was going fine until the Hyuuga noticed something whilst being smothered by her bosom.

"S-Sensei, are those b-bite marks on your neck?"

Kurenai cursed her luck.

**~~X~~**

The azure-eyed Shinobi and his respective blonde Chibi were at the courtyard. Chilling would be the word to describe their nonchalant behaviour which was pretty untypical considering their normal routine at the very same courtyard involved training, but that wasn't the case so far. Naruto was supporting a heavy blush. On the other hand, the redhead had an amused expression. The reason being for this incongruous behaviour being that the story about the bird and the bees was… interesting for his counterpart. This led him to ask trivial questions about the remarkable process which were honestly not that comical but the nature and the way he articulated it, and the fact that it was practically he himself asking _himself _was fucked up that it made it sound ludicrous.

'_So the boy…' Pause for a peculiar cough. 'Puts his… T-Thing inside a girl's… no-no zone?'_

'_Correct. Although you can call it a penis and a vagina.' The redhead paused before he added, 'Amongst many other things.'_

He took it upon himself to discuss at liberty and to impart the knowledge that he himself was refrained from in his own childhood and answered any questions he had. The blonde took it rather nicely, the redhead mused. He gave him some time to gather his bearings about it. He was walking a thin line, the elder of the two gathered. As such knowledge could very well tune him out to become a borderline pervert. He wasn't all that innocent, the redhead knew, as he had seen various illicit magazines to make his own _Sexy Jutsu. _And the thing that made him and his respective Chibi get up at night; don't need to go into detail about that, the redhead gathered.

It had been a couple of minutes and the blonde was finally feeling up to it and his blush had died down to a small reddish hue so he started talking normally and interacted somewhat as his usual self with his Nii-chan. Kurenai was leaning against the doorway from the compound watching the two of them interact together. It warmed her heart to see the blonde happy rather than simply feigning it. She only came to know about the feigning not long ago. She didn't see the difference until now. When Anko had told her and Yuugao, she had been sceptical about the little cute bundle of rambunctiousness, the boy who always stayed and kept himself in high spirits. That it was all a façade on his part. That he kept how he actually felt to no one other than himself. Anko explained that as she told her surrogate sisters that it was the same case for herself. It took every ounce of power she and Anko had to keep Yuugao from maiming some villagers she knew had a dogged hatred for her favourite blonde afterwards. Both Kurenai and Anko sharing that sentiment but Yuugao had her aggressive and protective nature for her loved ones which subjugated her rationality at the time. The ruby-eyed Kunoichi's afterthoughts made her respect the boy even more than she already did.

She shook herself off of her musings as Hinata came and stood next to her. After a brief rundown of how and what happened, they came down to the clone preparing tea as asked by the ruby-eyed Sensei with another clone also bringing fresh cinnamon rolls from the bakery. Safe to say it took every ounce of Hinata's Hyuuga demeanour to not go after the delectable and glazed treat when she caught a whiff of it as she came down to the dinner table with her Sensei. The clone told them that the original was with the blonde outside and the ruby-eyed Sensei could join them afterwards with her student.

The redhead noticed their presence and ushered for them to come over. Kurenai was the one who broke the silence by saying with a small wink, "Lucky guess with the cinnamon rolls, Ashina-kun. If I didn't know better, I'd say you knew they were Hinata's favourite." The woman stated while watching her student next to her with a not so discreet eye blush when she mentioned her and her love for the delectable treat.

Before the azure-eyed Shinobi could comment, the blonde next to him was the one who beat him to it by saying, "Are you feeling okay, Hinata?"

The indigo-haired Hyuuga, on the other hand, replied meekly with a small almost hiccupping articulation, "I-I'm f-feeling f-fine, Naruto-kun."

"Really? Well, I'm glad you're doing better, y'know." He said with an eye-smile whilst squinting his head a bit.

The Hyuuga in response blushed with a complacent smile whilst twiddling her fingers again finding that particular way for the blonde to react was way too cute which made the blonde on the other hand frown a bit obviously confused as to why she was doing that.

The older of the whiskered Shinobi broke that moment by saying, "I apologise for interrupting, Naruto-kun. But I believe I called Kurenai-chan and Hinata-chan here for a reason."

"Huh? Oh yeah! Nii-chan said that he wanted to know and what was the word he used? To… assess my training so far. By telling how much I've gotten better and y'know, comparing it with another kid from my class." He paused a little bit before he also said, "And he also said that I need help with my chakra control. He said that the Hyuuga clan members have better chakra control, I guess?"

The older Uzumaki smiled, "Correct, Naruto-kun. And as it turns out that Hinata-chan here is a Hyuuga." The blonde was a little wide-eyed for a second there but nodded along. Addressing the former Heiress with a smile, the redhead continued, "I hope you can help Naruto-kun with his chakra control, Hinata-chan. And in return, I can help you out with your reserves. Kurenai-sensei was telling me that it was a problem for you as you couldn't manage further than 32 palms in your Gentle Fist variant."

"H-Hai…" She hung her head down in disappointment as it was true that it had been a problem for her with her stamina and chakra reserves being insufficient. It even took a lot out of her with her 32 palms. So if the redhead could help her with it, she'd be grateful. And besides, the Hyuuga was determined to help her crush in any way. He was her friend now. She will not disappoint him.

"That's a fair compensation, Hinata." The ruby-eyed Sensei said adding her two cents on the matter.

"That's so cool, Hinata! Please say yes, y'know! We'll be able to spend more time together this way!" The blonde stated with a grin.

'_M-More time with Naruto-kun?' _She thought with a daydreamingly fainty grin whilst looking at nothing.

She shook herself in front of everyone before she could embarrass herself and answered with an almost inward determined expression, "I-I accept, Ashina-sensei."

The redhead smiled, "Good. You both can begin now if you want. Kurenai-sensei and I are both here if you have any problems." He said while pointing towards the courtyard. "And Naruto-kun, listen keenly to what Hinata-chan has to say. Remember what I said before." To which the blonde nodded.

"Cool! Come on, Hinata!" He grabbed her hand before she could say anything which made her 'eep' and pulled her towards the shade from the tree on the other side of the courtyard.

Kurenai giggled when she saw the face Hinata was making. It was a mix of apprehension, happiness and nervousness. She looked next to her and saw that her boyfriend mirrored her expression but more reserved and obviously more rugged than hers was. She asked as she remembered with a teasing grin, "How did he take it?"

The redhead sighed but gave a knowing smile with a snigger when he saw the look the Kunoichi had, "Honestly, a lot better than I expected. Hopefully, he doesn't turn out to be a per…" He wasn't able to finish as it wasn't a second later before he was being pulled into a nasty Genjutsu which he quickly nullified or rather Kurama did. He was about to ask the Genjutsu expert next to her as to why she did that but was scared when he saw the look the Kunoichi had.

It wasn't one of utter contempt and disdain but rather a sickly sweet smile which was far too sadistic, even for him, who literally had a demon fox in his belly.

"Ashina-kun…" She started with a sweet tone far too unconvincing to be anything but that. "Please tell me that that sweet boy has not been corrupted? Because if he is, Kami help me, I'll…"

"N-No… A-As far as I know." He said with a nervous sweatdrop whilst holding up his hands feigning innocence.

"Good." She said with a smile. And just like that. A full three-sixty. She snickered when she saw the trail of sweat running down his face, obviously feeling some sort of elation at the reaction she got. She continued with a complacent expression, "If you thought that was anger… Wait till you see what Yuugao has to say…"

She paused as she remembered the Anbu and her commitment, "So you said you knew what I was worried about?"

"I did, yes."

"And?"

"You're worried about how you're going to approach your friend in regards to my introduction I asked of when we first met, most probably. Seeing as we're not exactly exclusive as of yet."

She smiled nervously, "So you know that much."

"I put two and two together and I had a hunch."

"Yeah…" She started awkwardly not knowing what to say.

"And now you want to discuss how you want to approach her."

"I… Yes." She said surprised. "How did you know that?"

"Good intuition, Kurenai-chan." He said with a smile.

"I have my two best friends or rather sisters you should call them. One of them is Yuugao. Do you know her or have heard of her?"

'_Uzuki Yuugao. Codename Neko. A former member of Team Ro of the Anbu task force. Now commands it. Do you remember her, Kurama?' _He asked his furry companion since it was good remembering names or faces.

'_**I remember. She was with the old fart most of the time.'**_

'_Yeah. And besides, how can we forget what happened the other day...' _He chuckled as he remembered in front of the fox.

'_**Ah. So that woman was the same.' **_The fox said knowing that particular chakra was familiar but didn't deem it necessary at that time to put two and two together.

'_Lazy ass fox...' _The redhead stated with a sigh before he continued, '_I never did tell you what happened in the hospital while I was 'unconscious', so to say.'_

"Ashina-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay? You kind of zoned out there for a minute."

He smiled a little apprehensively with the familial quirk ever so present, "Sorry about that. Something came to mind. As for your question, we've been acquainted."

The ruby-eyed Kunoichi raised an eyebrow at that, "Oh?"

"But only briefly."

"I see."

He was about to say more but it was when an Anbu with a white cat-like mask made his signature known as he appeared in front of them in a swirl of leaves, "Ashina-san, the Hokage requests your presence for a council meeting."

The redhead answered with a nod which the Anbu returned as he left. He turned towards the ruby-eyed beauty as he asked, "You're okay with watching the both of them?"

The Genjutsu Mistress answered with a smile, "Should you even ask that question?"

The redhead chuckled, "I suppose not." He moved to caress her cheek with his hand, "We'll talk more when I get back, okay? I'll send a clone if it takes too long." He said with a smile as his azure eyes shone brightly under the warmth of the sun.

The woman blushed at the gesture, "Okay…"

He moved in to capture her lips with his own. It was brief but it was one of understanding between the inexperienced couple. He shunshined afterwards, after saying goodbye to his blonde counterpart and Hinata as he made his way to the Council chamber.

**~~X~~**

**Sorry about the late update but as I said, I don't have the story thought out and I'm making stuff as I go on. I originally planned on writing it way more but I figured 20k is a good length. About Kakashi. I always felt even in canon that he's more than he lets on. Even though he's guilty in terms of how he left Naruto to fend for himself in canon, the guy has some serious issues. He's definitely not off the hook, as far as my story is concerned. But I wanted to provide his perspective too, I guess. I still don't know whether my fic will have that angsty sort of bashing but there will be elements of it… maybe. I know I'm still sort of in the introductory phase in the story but I'm writing slow paced. This story will be a bit dark and gory as it goes on as far as Ashina's past is concerned but I have fluff to counter that. Naruto and Hinata's first meeting took inspiration from episode 159 from the anime. Leave reviews. I'll try my best to reply. Look forward to the next chapter.**


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